Historic Shaker Village Saved From Sprawl

The Shakers today must contend with a modern problem confronting all farmers in southern Maine: suburban sprawl driving up land values and property taxes.

Sprawl means much of the Shaker land is taxed for its potential to sprout subdivisions, not crops. So the four remaining members of the last active Shaker community in the world are struggling to pay high taxes - more than $27,000 last year - in addition to their expenses for daily living and other costs. Those include maintaining the society's library and museum and the upkeep of 19 historic but fragile buildings in their village - the newest of which was built in 1910.

"We may be simple, but our lives are not," said Brother Arnold Hadd.