Alfred, Maine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"A Shaker religious community once thrived in Alfred. In 1783, members of the Shaker Church settled on the hill near Massabesic (now Shaker) Pond. Others dubbed them the "Merry Dancers," because of their ecstatic worship. "They were," as historian George J. Varney writes, "at this time fanatical in religion and intemperate in their indulgences." [3] Organized in 1793, Alfred Shaker Village practiced the religion's celibate communal living, with equality among the sexes and races. They built plain architecture and furniture, honest expressions of their faith. At the movement's height in the 1840s, Shakers operated 19 utopian communities scattered from Maine to Kentucky, and as far west as Indiana. But among all the "societies," Alfred Shaker Village in particular was noted for "spiritualistic healing of the sick." It was also where Elder Joseph Brackett wrote the famous 1848 Shaker dancing song, Simple Gifts.[4]"
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