Here's some of the history from the owners:

"The Ruins at Sassafras Museum is the home of the former Shaker Second Family settlement, one of five Shaker settlements in The Mount Lebanon Shaker Village in New Lebanon, New York.

In 1787, Mother Ann Lee, the leader of the Shakers in the United States, expanded the community from Watervliet to Mount Lebanon. The community grew rapidly with new recruits and divided into family groups that consisted of as many as 100 individuals. The community survived for approximately 150 years and grew to 600 members.

Registry