It is one of the most intact and authentic surviving Shaker community sites, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993.

[2][4][5] The site is operated by a non-profit organization established in 1969 to preserve the heritage of the Canterbury Shakers.

[8] In 1782 Israel Chauncey and Ebeneezer Cooley from the Mount Lebanon village of Shakers traveled to Canterbury and converted several prominent figures of the community.

These figures included Benjamin and Mary Whitcher and the Wiggin and Sanborn families, who later donated land to house the Canterbury Village community of Shakers.

Through a donation of land from local community members, the Canterbury Village was founded in 1792, led by Father Job Bishop.

As Stephen Stein highlights in his definitive guide to the Shaker society, The Shaker Experience, "New means of transportation, sources of power, complex machinery, and communication devices transformed community life and came to symbolize the views of modern Believers.

The Canterbury Shakers patented a washing machine, an accomplishment that was recognized by mainstream society in the form of a gold medal at the Centennial Exposition in 1876.

[13] In 1947, when LIFE reporter Nina Leen visited the village, there were 16 sisters remaining,[15] ranging in age from 43 to 80.