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The members of the North Union Village were part of the United Society of Believers of the Second Appearance of Christ, a utopian celibate sect commonly known as the “Shakers.” The North Union Shakers created Lower Shaker Lake by damming the Doan Brook in 1836 to power their mills, which were managed by the Mill Family, one of three North Union Shaker families who resided in this area from 1822 to 1889. The mills produced the most prosperous trade for the Shakers as farmers from all around Northeast Ohio would travel to the “trustworthy” Shakers for their efficient and quality mills to grind grain and purchase products.
The members of the North Union Village were part of the United Society of Believers of the Second Appearance of Christ, a utopian celibate sect commonly known as the “Shakers.” The North Union Shakers created Lower Shaker Lake by damming the Doan Brook in 1836 to power their mills, which were managed by the Mill Family, one of three North Union Shaker families who resided in this area from 1822 to 1889. The mills produced the most prosperous trade for the Shakers as farmers from all around Northeast Ohio would travel to the “trustworthy” Shakers for their efficient and quality mills to grind grain and purchase products.
An archival document describes the Lower Lake dam:
An archival document describes the Lower Lake dam:
"The dam is built of dirt. It is twenty rods or more in length and upwards of twenty feet high, a stone drain at the bottom to carry off the waste water, a stone penstock which connects at the upper end of the drain. This penstock is built around about ten feet in diameter of black stone. The water pours over the top all round, the bottom is flat stone laid in water cement. This is the best and most durable floor I ever saw of the kind.”
"The dam is built of dirt. It is twenty rods or more in length and upwards of twenty feet high, a stone drain at the bottom to carry off the waste water, a stone penstock which connects at the upper end of the drain. This penstock is built around about ten feet in diameter of black stone. The water pours over the top all round, the bottom is flat stone laid in water cement. This is the best and most durable floor I ever saw of the kind.”
At its peak, the family had about 50 sisters and brothers as well as 20 buildings. However, as local industry and technology evolved in the 19th century, the Mill Family found it challenging to compete with Cleveland mills and industry.
At its peak, the family had about 50 sisters and brothers as well as 20 buildings. However, as local industry and technology evolved in the 19th century, the Mill Family found it challenging to compete with Cleveland mills and industry.
This map was drawn in 1961 by surveyor Earl Gurney Mead using several North Union manuscripts and drawings. The portion of the map displayed is of the Mill Family, which resided around Lower Lake. They were most well known for operating a grist mill, sawmill, and cooper shop. In addition, the Mill Family ran a dairy and had two prominent apple orchards. Unfortunately, the majority of these Shaker structures were burned in a mysterious fire in 1890, the year after the North Union sect dissolved.
Louis Baus, born in 1875, was a Cleveland native, photographer, and avid collector of historic photographs. Baus was a photographer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer for nearly 40 years until his death in 1949. He not only took photographs of the Cleveland area but also of communal societies in Ohio, including the North Union Shaker Village, the Mormon Community in Kirtland, and Zoar Village. This album compiled by Baus in 1931 contains some of the only photographs of the North Union Village and has given historians great insight into the local Shaker community. Baus’ photographs mostly cover the declining years of the North Union Village as well as the disbandment of the society. His collection includes several photographs of the Mill Family who resided along Lower Lake and Doan Brook.
Gift of Eugene L. Baus, 082.1931 Bau
In partnership with the Shaker Heights Public Library and Cleveland State University, this scrapbook is fully digitized and can be viewed on Cleveland Memory here.
This chair belonged to Walter Dyke, a miller who moved from England to East Cleveland. As the Mill Family dwindled in numbers, the Shakers struggled to keep up with the mills’ workload and repairs. In 1886, the machinery from the stone gristmill was moved to a frame building on the old sawmill foundation between Lower Lake and Coventry Road. This new gristmill was leased to Dyke, who had previously operated the stone gristmill, until his death in 1890. Despite his close connection with the Shakers, Walter and his family never became Shakers.
Gift of Walter Emerson Dyke, 1965.24.1.1
Baus Photo #61: Ruins of the saw mill at the Lower Lake in 1895
“The stone foundation still remaining between Coventry Rd. and the lower lake, now the Shaker Wild Flower Preserve, was used for supporting the old saw mill, built in 1837. The mill was of frame 21 x 43 ft. and two stories high. The upper story was the cooper shop, where tubs, pails and churns were made from pine, shipped from Michigan, from land owned by the [Shaker] Society. The lower floor was the saw mill proper. In 1885 a mysterious fire consumed most of the buildings of the Mill Family and the old foundation was all that remained of the saw mill.”
The Shaker sawmill used water power from the dam to cut logs into lumber. This mill became a gristmill in 1886, a few years before the North Union colony dissolved. The portions of the "old mill remains" in this postcard can still be seen today on the north side of Lower Lake. They are some of the last remaining pieces of the North Union Shaker Village.
Collection of John Barber and Peggy Spaeth
Baus Photo #52: Southwest view of stone gristmill, 1876
The North Union Shaker gristmill (above) was built in 1843 further down Doan Brook near the stone quarry, now near Kemper Road. It was a monument of solid masonry and workmanship and was pronounced the finest mill in Ohio according to an archival source. As the Mill Family declined, the mill was sold and then blown up by Councilman Charles Reader as a July 4th celebration in 1886.
This advertisement (left) from the May 23, 1886 issue of the Plain Dealer vividly describes the celebration planned by Councilman Reader. The events of the day included live music, a baseball game, trap shooting, a sham battle, a tightrope walker, and the explosion of the "Old Shaker Mill." Around 4,000 people attended the celebration.
A Plain Dealer article from the following day noted:
“The great event of the day was the blowing up of the old stone Shaker mill, which was erected in 1843. Dynamite was placed around the fountain on the inside…a number of explosions were heard, but the mill stood firm. Finally the explosions occurred in rapid succession and the mill raised up, the whole structure collapsed, and with a loud, roaring sound, sunk into a shapeless mass. A loud cheer went up from the crowd as the building fell.”
Compiled by Elizabeth Nord, the museum’s first curator, the North Union Full View Album contains photographs reprinted from Louis Baus's negatives. Several of the images, including the ones below, show Lower Lake, the dams, and the gristmill ruins. The ruins are a sharp contrast to the impressive, five-story structure seen in Baus Photograph #52 above.
Compiled by Elizabeth Nord, the museum’s first curator, the North Union Full View Album contains photographs reprinted from Louis Baus's negatives. Several of the images, including the ones below, show Lower Lake, the dams, and the gristmill ruins. The ruins are a sharp contrast to the impressive, five-story structure seen in Baus Photograph #52 above.
Baus Photo #41, 1898: "View shows the lower lake from the present North Park Blvd. Water from here furnished the power for the sawmill and gristmill of the North [Mill] Family which lay beyond the lake, where Coventry Rd. now passes the old site."
Baus Photo #42, 1898: “The mill dam at the west end of the Lower Lake was thickly planted with willows and thus adding strength to the embankment. The dam was built in 1837 at the time the sawmill was erected, and thus the lower lake of 25 acres was formed.”
"Dam at Mill Family. Shows bridge at west end of Lower Lake, over Coventry Road."
Baus Photo #58, 1898: “Over the south branch of the creek, west of the lake and near the old water gate was this old wooden bridge. Today it is filled in over a culvert and Coventry Rd. takes its place.”
"Ruins of Old Stone Gristmill - North Union Community. Stood opposite Cleveland Skating Club. Across the Ravine." 1898
Baus Photo #65, 1876: "At the right Elder James Prescott shows a visitor the beautiful scenes at the lower pond, which he helped to build in 1836-7. Elder Prescott being a stone mason, laid the foundation by the Center Family house in 1826, and joined the colony the same year.”
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