Crews work to restore Kentucky’s largest historical landmark after storm

MERCER COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - As communities continue to clean up from last Friday’s storms, Shaker Village, the state’s largest national historic landmark says significant damage from the storm.

Several trees came down on a carriage house during Friday’s storm. They also say they had just recently restored it.

“We don’t like to lose any of our historic fabric here at the village. We want to maintain that. That’s been our goal since our organization was founded in the 1960s,” said Vice President of Natural and Cultural Resources William Updike.

Updike says this is why they work hard to restore the buildings on the property.

He says Friday’s historic windstorm knocked down a couple dozen trees on the property and caused minor damage to some of the barn roofs. as for the carriage house.

Updike says nearly 100,000 visitors tour the site every year. He says the carriage house tells an important part of its past.

“In the 19th century, of course, horse-drawn transportation was very important to many individuals, and having a building dedicated to that, whether it’s a stable or a carriage house, just helps tell a more complete story,” Updike said.

The preserve team has been busy clearing debris off their 36 miles of hiking trails over the last few days, along with the carriage house site. But they need your help this saturday from 9-5 p.m.

“We’ll feed you continental breakfast and a boxed lunch if you come and help us pick up some sticks and do some things here around the village to just clean up,” said Updike.

Updike says 30 people have already registered to come out and volunteer on saturday. They are looking for 50 people. If you are interested in volunteering, you can sign up on Shaker Village’s website.

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