03/30/2026
The round barn at Hancock Shaker Village in Hancock, Massachusetts, in 1962 and 2023. The barn was built in 1826, and it was used by the local Shaker community until the village closed in 1960 amid dwindling numbers of Shakers. By that point the barn was badly deteriorated, with large cracks in the stone walls, as shown in the first photo.
In 1968, the barn underwent a major restoration, which included dismantling the exterior walls, repairing the foundation, and then reconstructing the walls using the original stones. Today it stands as the centerpiece of the Hancock Shaker Village museum, and it is one of the most recognizable and distinctive architectural landmarks of the area.