Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill is the site of a Shaker religious community that was active from 1805 to 1910. An effort to restore it began in 1961. It is now a National Historic Landmark.

Their movement began in New York shortly after the American Revolution and by the 1840s, nearly 3,500 Shakers lived in communities from Maine to Kentucky.

The term "Shakers" was given to the group by outsiders. The self-given name for the group was the United Society of Christ's Second Appearance. They referred to themselves as "Believers." Because their worship involved dancing that included shaking of the body, outsiders referred to them as Shakers. That name stuck.

The Shakers chose a peaceful way of life. They were celibate, believed in equality of race and sex and freedom from prejudice. A quest for simplicity and perfection is reflected in their fine designs and craftsmanship, and today the term Shaker-made is synonymous with excellence around the world. Shakers were also opposed to slavery.

Shakers were inventors or early adopters of many new tools and techniques. In the early 1830s the Shakers of Pleasant Hill constructed a water tower on a high plot of ground. A horse-drawn pump lifted water into the tower, and from there a system of pipes conveyed it to the kitchens, cellars, and wash houses. In the wash houses, washing machines powered by horses were built to reduce the enormous chore of laundering the community's clothes and linens.

Their buildings were spacious, bright well planned and built to last a long time.