Members of each Family lived together, dormitory-style, in Dwelling Houses with rooms for Sisters and Brethren separated along hallways or located in different wings. In 1783, the Watervliet Shakers constructed a two-story, clapboard Dwelling House.

The building was expanded in 1808, but was still not adequate for the growing Church Family.

The Infirmary allowed the Shakers to separate those who were sick or injured from the rest of the community. The arrangement likely reduced the spread of disease and also provided a quieter place than the bustling Dwelling House in which to recover.

Seven years later, plans for a new Meeting House were drawn by Brother Moses Johnson of the Enfield, New Hampshire Shaker community. Brother Moses had helped to frame and build the 1785 Meeting House at Mt. Lebanon, and the Watervliet Meeting House was one of ten similar buildings constructed under his supervision.

Moses Mixer, Stephen Markham and John Bruce assisted with the construction.

The building served as the central place of worship for 58 years. As the population of the Watervliet Shaker community grew and there was an increasing demand from visitors who were interested in watching the Shakers at worship, plans were made for a new Meeting House.

It took two full years to build this large structure, and by 1845 an addition was needed to accommodate the growing community. At the height of the Watervliet community, up to 100 Shakers in each Family may have lived together in a Dwelling House.

The construction incorporated built-in cabinets and closets in each bedroom, which were shared by several Brethren or Sisters. The main kitchen and dining room were also located in the building, as was a separate worship space, used during the week or in the winter when it was too cold to heat the large Meeting House. The building also contained built-in storage areas in the attic.

Shaker Creek originally traveled a curved path through the Church Family property, and records indicate that a pool of water existed at this site in the late 1700’s. In fact, the original Shaker mill stood in this general area, but the water flow was not strong enough, and the Shakers moved the mill site to what is now Ann Lee Pond.

The Workshop contained work spaces where Sisters produced thousands of yards of yarn and fabric, made clothing for the girls and women, made thousands of bonnets and “fancy goods” items to sell to The World, and painted furniture and wove seats for chairs made by the Brethren.

Sisters produced butter and cheese in the dairy located in the basement. At one point the Shakers moved beehives into the basement to overwinter. Some rooms upstairs were occasionally used to house young girls, and in later years, a room was converted for use as a music room.

In 1850, a new school house was built on what is now called Heritage Lane. It was a one-and-a-half story, gable-roofed brick structure. In 1856 a small wood addition was built on the east elevation.

While the Shakers were celibate, there were a number of children in the community. Some children arrived with their families who joined the Shakers, others were indentured by widowed or impoverished parents hoping to ensure a stable future for their sons or daughters, and others were orphans who were taken in by the Shakers.

Young boys and girls lived separately under the care of Brethren and Sisters, and all children received an equal education. The school was accredited by New York State.

This continued until the late-19th or early-20th century, when boys and girls attended classes together and a normal school year schedule was instituted. By the early 20th century, the school was part of the Watervliet District #14, and classes included both Shaker children and students from the World.

Watervliet Shakers developed the process to produce and package seeds on a large scale for sale to the World. The business was thriving by the 1790s. The Shakers not only grew many acres of vegetables for the specific purpose of harvesting the seeds, but also produced their own paper envelopes and boxes for packing.

By 1837 a portion of the Seed House was converted for raising silk worms with the intent to produce silk thread and cloth. However, the northern climate was not ideal for the silk worms, and the industry had limited success.

At the time of the Shaker settlement until well into the 19th century, herbal remedies were used to treat illness and, sometimes, injury. The Watervliet Shakers first gathered herbs and plants in the surrounding area and later began to grow herbs.

Brother David Buckingham’s 1838 map of the Church Family shows a “Botanical Garden” which may have been the site of plants grown for medicinal and culinary uses.

In 1827, the Watervliet Shakers began to produce medicinal and culinary herbs for sale to the World. In 1830, the Church Family published a catalogue with 142 herbs for sale. In 1850 there were 186 herbs, 27 extracts, and 4 ointments offered along with powders and cooking herbs. The last catalogue, published in 1860, listed 292 herbs and 25 extracts.

Herbs were processed into one-ounce cakes, pills, extracts, and powders. As with their many other industries, the Shakers were known for high-quality herbal products, especially important at a time of unlimited “quack” remedies that were on the market.

Shaker herb gardens were extensive, often with one species planted over several acres of land.

Although the 1856 name “Herb Shop and Milk House” suggests this building had two purposes, there are no references in the Shaker journals that it was used as a dairy or a milk producing shop. Similar to many other buildings on the site, the use of the building changed over the years to accommodate a variety of industries.

In 1812, the Church Family dredged the southern portion of their property to create a new pond that would provide waterpower for a new mill they were planning to construct along the pond.

The mill was essential for the production of a wide variety of goods the Shakers used for their own daily needs and items they made to sell to the World. At the time of the 1812 mill’s construction, both the broom industry and the seed industry were in full swing.

Outdated thirty years later, the 1812 mill was replaced in 1842 with a new building which was located on the north side of the road that traveled in front of the pond. The new mill had four waterwheels running: one in the saw mill, two in the grist mill, and one for running machinery. Fire destroyed the second mill in 1886, and the Church Family built a third mill on the same site by 1888.