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Having turned into industries their surpluses in herbs, seeds, brooms,
fruits, corn and livestock, it was only natural they also turn into industries
the surpluses of their woodworking shops and their inventiveness. Nordhoff,
writing in 1874, said "the Shakers have shown more skill in contriving new
trades than any of the other societies, and have among their members a good
04
deal of mechanical ingenuity.1T" At that time, the Canterbury, N. H. com-
munity was manufacturing washing machines and mangles on a large scale.
The best known invention of the Shakers was probably the washing machine.
At least, either this or the broom brought them the biggest monetary returns
from the outside world. In 1877, the machines, according to their size,
ranged in price from $225 to $450, but theylasted for years. The Parker
House in Boston in 1875 reported having used theirs for 16 years, the Clifton
Springs Sanitarium for 14 years, St. Nicholas Hotel in New York and the Nova
Scotia Hospital for the Insane > for 16 years, and all had no idea of replacing
them.
An early invention is credited to Sister Sarah Babbitt of Harvard, Mass,
who, about 1812 while watching some brethren saw, remarked on the amount
of lost motion. Quietly she retired, made a notched disc out of tin;, fastened
it to her spinning wheel, and found it adequate to saw shingles. She reported
it, and a brethren at New Lebanon made the first one piece circular iron saw.
Two brothers at New Lebanon in 1828 invented a machine for making
tongue and groove boards. Though not classified as an invention, it is typical
of the way the Shakers applied power and made practical labor-saving devices.