Groveland Shaker Village was a settlement of Shakers in

Groveland, New York Groveland is a town in Livingston County, New York, United States. The population was 3,249 at the 2010 census. The town is centrally located in the county, south of Geneseo. History The Sullivan Expedition (1779) reached its farthest exten ...

under the

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

of Groveland.Stephen J. Paterwic.
Historical Dictionary of the Shakers
'. Scarecrow Press; 11 August 2008. . p. 18. In 1826, a Shaker group was organized that would become the Groveland Shaker Village, Groveland.* Andrews, Edward Deming. ''The People Called Shakers: A Search for the Perfect Society'' (1953) p. 291. They moved from Sodus in

Wayne County, New York Wayne County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 91,283. The county seat is Lyons. The name honors General Anthony Wayne, an American Revolutionary War hero and American statesman. Wayne Coun ...

to escape worldly influences. When the membership of the sect declined, the Shakers sold the land to the state after they were assured it would be used for good purpose. Several of the Shaker buildings are still used today. The armory and church are of Shaker origin. At the end of the 19th century, the state opened a facility for people with

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...

here. While it is sometimes claimed that the name ''Sonyea'' is an acronym for "State of New York Epileptic Asylum," other authorities hold that the word is actually from the Seneca language and means "a warm and sunny place."Hall, Marty.
Dying for Something: Graveland
'. XLibris Corporation; 20 November 2010. . pp. 52-53. Later the building was taken over by the state prison system. It is now owned by the

Groveland Correctional Facility Groveland Correctional Facility is a medium security prison located in the Town of Groveland in Livingston County, New York, in the United States. The facility is located next to the community of Sonyea in Groveland on the site of a former Sha ...

. File:Groveland Shaker Village.jpg, Groveland Shaker Village, New York., 1890s. The photograph includes an 1842 meetinghouse (right), shops, and a four-story, late 1850s brick East Family building. New York State Museum, Albany.

References

{{coord missing, Western NY Shaker communities or museums 1826 establishments in New York (state) Populated places established in 1826 Populated places in Livingston County, New York