On a July night in 1921, a group of "Cleveland hoodlums" fought with members of the Shaker Heights Police Department after being ordered out of Lower Shaker Lake. The young men were not happy about being told that they could not swim in the lake at night. In the ensuing scuffle, the police beat a number of bathers and an officer fired his gun in the air. A few of the bathers made a run for it -- in the nude. One was eventually picked up by a Cleveland police officer on the alert for "a naked boy seen lurking in shrubbery on Kinsman Road." The North Union Shakers would have certainly been shocked to witness such a riotous scene.

During its 190 years of existence, Lower Shaker Lake has gone from being an example of industriousness and self-sufficiency to being a place where people go to have fun and enjoy nature. The North Union Shakers first dammed the Doan Brook in the 1820s to power a saw mill located just west of the newly-created Lower Shaker Lake. In 1829, a portion of the original Shaker settlement at Lee Road and North Park Boulevard moved to a location nearer to the sawmill and Lower Shaker Lake. The "Mill Family," as it became known, worked and lived communally, sharing the large "Family House" near the northwest shore of Lower Shaker Lake. The "Family" (actually a group of thirty or so mainly unrelated Shakers) operated the saw mill and, eventually, a five-story high grist (corn and flour) mill located in Doan Brook Gorge. As the 19th century came to a close, the North Union Shaker community steadily grew smaller. Older Shakers died, while new members proved hard to recruit, probably due to the strict practice of celibacy in the Shaker Church. In 1889, the North Union Shaker community disbanded, and the 20 or so remaining members moved to other Shaker communities. Their dams on the Doan Brook, however, remained.

In 1896, the Buffalo real estate company that now owned the old Shaker lands donated 279 acres of it, including Lower and Upper Shaker Lake, to the City of Cleveland. The new parkland followed the path of Doan Brook, connecting with Ambler Park, Wade Park, Rockefeller Park, and Gordon Park to create a nearly continuous stretch of parks from Shaker Heights to Lake Erie. Lower Shaker Lake quickly attracted swimmers, canoeists, and picnickers. In the 1910s and 1920s, when the Shaker Lakes Canoe Club was at its peak, its two-story clubhouse on the lake's southeast shore was the site of annual regattas that attracted thousands of spectators. The regattas featured traditional canoe races as well as competitions in the less well-known sports of "canoe tilting" and "canoe polo."

In the 1960s, however, the future of Lower Shaker Lake was threatened by a proposal to construct a freeway interchange just east of the lake. The Clark Freeway would have run parallel to the lake's south side before intersecting with the Lee Freeway near the spot where the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes now sits. Founded in 1966, the creation of the Nature Center was a key part of the dedicated effort by local residents to prevent the freeways from being built. Thankfully, the protests worked and the freeways did not get built. While the young men who dashed naked from the lake in 1921 did not win their fight against the police, the men and women fighting against the Clark and Lee Freeways several decades later won the right to continue enjoying the Shaker Lakes. It is safe to say that victory was deserved in both cases.

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In 1852, the North Union Shakers dammed Doan Brook for the second time, generating power for a new woolen mill and creating what would later become known as Horseshoe Lake. The new dam symbolized the continued growth of the North Union community, which was founded in 1822. The Shakers had previously dammed the Doan Brook at a spot further west to power a saw mill, creating Lower Shaker Lake in the process. In addition to operating these mills, the Shakers farmed, raised cattle, and manufactured small items such as brooms, barrels, and clothespins. They sold their wares and foodstuffs to Cleveland residents and neighboring farmers. By the early 1850s, the North Union Shakers were at their peak, with over 300 members spread across three different settlements. The next thirty years would witness the decline of the community, however.

The numbers of North Union Shakers steadily dwindled in the years following the Civil War, as elderly members passed away and new converts proved hard to find. Strict Shaker religious practices (including a strict vow of celibacy) and the communal nature of Shaker living did not appeal to the generation coming of age after the Civil War. Nor could the hand-made items the Shakers crafted compete with the cheaper mass produced goods flooding American markets at this time. Not only was the North Union community losing members, it was also losing money.

The North Union Shakers disbanded in 1889. The 20 or so remaining members, most of whom were elderly, moved to other Shaker communities. Although the Shakers eventually left northeast Ohio, the lakes they created to power their mills remained. In 1896, Horseshoe Lake was part of the 279 acres of parkland donated to the City of Cleveland by the Buffalo real estate company that had purchased the old Shaker lands. The new parkland followed the path of Doan Brook, connecting with Ambler Park, Wade Park, Rockefeller Park, and Gordon Park to create a nearly continuous stretch of parks from Shaker Heights to Lake Erie.

In the 1930s, workers with the New Deal's Works Progress Administration (WPA) landscaped the area, turning it from "a pile of mud and rocks" into Horseshoe Lake Park. The City of Shaker Heights spent nearly a million dollars to renovate the park in 2004, adding new playground equipment and an elevated boardwalk that winds its way through wetlands. The renovations were completed in 2007.

More recently, the dam has been the subject of controversy. In 2018 the Ohio Department of Natural Resources discovered a sinkhole along the dam, leading to the decision to drain Horseshoe Lake and conduct an assessment of the dam's condition the following year. In 2021 the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District informed the cities of Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights that in light of minimal flood-control benefits, the risk of dam failure, and the high cost of rebuilding the dam, removal of the Horseshoe Lake Dam should be given close consideration. Preservation-minded citizens, however, have urged that the lake's historical value needs to be considered before abandoning the 170-year-old lake. For now, the lake's fate hangs in the balance.

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On September 21, 1948, the Shaker Historical Society commemorated its one-year anniversary with the unveiling of a bronze plaque on the southwest corner of Lee Road and Shaker Boulevard to mark the location of the Center Family of the North Union colony of Shakers. Five years later, a Shaker gate that had been added to the northeast corner was dedicated. The land adjoining this commemorative site, a 200-square-foot lot recently purchased by Shaker Historical Society, had previously been the location of the religious community's Meeting House, carpenter shop, blacksmith shop, dining room, and dormitories. A replica of the original gate that led onto the Shaker property was fashioned by members of the society, and large square cut stones that had once belonged to the Shakers were used as gate posts.

In retrospect, the Shakers seem an unlikely symbol of commemoration. The Cold War was in its infancy, and Shaker Heights was now one of America's wealthiest communities. A communal society had become an object of celebration in an era characterized by general disdain for all things that hinted of communism. Somehow, middle- and upper-class Shaker Heights residents came to identify with the values held by and projected upon this anti-materialist, apocalyptic religious society.

As the name Shaker Heights suggests, local interest in the Shaker community was partially rooted in the connection between the religious group and the history of the area. Development of the Shaker community coincided with early pioneer life in Warrensville, and spoke to the history of the region. The North Union Shaker colony was founded in 1822 and lasted until 1889. While segregated within their own communities, the lives of the Shakers were both influenced by and shaped the surrounding world. From the visits of Shaker men who consigned their garden seeds for local sale to the tale of a young Shaker women running off and marrying a local college student printed in the local paper, the lives of Shakers and Warrensville residents intersected. These interactions were most commonly a result of the commercial relationships that developed among Shakers and their neighbors. Although the religious order strived for self-sufficiency, the realities of providing for the needs of its members - reaching nearly 200 persons at the communities height - demanded the purchase and sale of goods. Products offered by the artisans, craftsmen, farmers, and millers were commonly acquired by Cleveland and Warrensville residents. While the contemporary accounts of encounters with North Union Shakers by the outside world regularly focused on the peculiarities of their social and religious customs, they were also portrayed as honest, hard working, and pious in nature. This reputation became intertwined in the popular perception of Shakers, and would remain even after the community had long since moved from the area. Tied to notions of peace, virtue, and rural life, the Shaker name would be memorialized in the region's development at the turn of the 20th century.

This fascination with Shaker life and culture was not unique to Shaker Heights. The reclusive Shaker religious community had always captured the imagination of the American public, and had increasingly been the subject of academic study since the 1920s. In addition, antique collectors had long been fixated with the many high quality products that were created for and sold by Shaker communities. Initially viewed as a fanatic religious group in both Europe and America, popular perception of the millenarian society had changed dramatically. Underlying this change was the relative extinction of the religious community, with its practitioners having been relegated to history and nostalgia. By mid-century, all but three Shaker communities in the New England area had closed their doors. The population of Shakers within these remaining colonies had greatly dwindled in numbers. To the outside world, the communities had became living museums – relics of a fascinating pioneer past.

The memory and perception of Shakers was defined greatly by both progressive interpretations of their faith and the material culture that was left behind. Shakers had long been known for their pacifist views, support of abolitionism, and the institution of gender and racial equality within their communities. Admiration for the egalitarian philosophy of the Shakers would find new resonance with historians and Shaker enthusiasts as both the civil rights and women's rights movement received increased popular support following World War II. Complementing the perception of Shakers being forward-thinking and pious, the physical artifacts left behind by the religious order spoke to a history of innovation and industriousness. The Shakers were renowned for their craftsmanship in woodwork and basket making. They had also received credit for many inventions, including the flat broom, circular saw, and revolving oven.

The commemoration of Shakers was a celebration of mainstream values. The values that the Shaker name had come to embody by the mid-twentieth century, however, were divorced from many of the teachings and beliefs of the religious community. Practices such as celibacy or removing oneself from the influence of material goods were generally dismissed as peculiar. Competing interpretations of Christianity, such as the belief in the second coming of Christ and the rejection of the Trinity, were similarly swept aside. Even though the social and religious beliefs of the Shakers diverged from mainstream thought, the near-extinct religious group offered little threat to the status quo. With attention focused on their many admirable qualities, the Shakers could be safely admired and commemorated. The society envisioned and created by Shaker communities during the 18th and 19th century had effectively been culled for representations of utopian idealism, a virtuous rural America, and pioneer ingenuity. The grounds were designated a Shaker Heights Landmark in 1976.

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The Shaker Lakes are man-made bodies of water created by the North Union Shaker Community in the mid-nineteenth century to power a series of mills. When the Shakers left and their lands became part of the suburb of Shaker Heights, the lakes remained, becoming the focal point of a series of parks. In the 1960s, however, the parks surrounding the Shaker Lakes were threatened by a proposal that sought to construct freeways through both Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights.

One of the most important developments in Cleveland (and big cities as a whole) after World War II has been the emergence of vast freeway systems, spurring the growth of suburbs and sparking an exodus of residents from within central cities themselves. The fact that Shaker and Cleveland Heights have remained free of such roads is no accident. In 1963, a plan by Cuyahoga County Engineer and Democratic Party leader Albert Porter to run the Clark, Lee, and Heights Freeways through the two suburbs sparked outrage among its residents. Porter, a powerful politician whose leadership at the County Engineer's Office from 1943 onward had contributed to the success of the postwar freeway construction boom, soon emerged as the prime villain in the affair, brashly demanding for construction to commence despite a number of protests.

Women played a large role in the successful effort to block the Heights freeways from being built. Women's organizations were fundamental in the 1966 creation of the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes, which highlighted the educational and environmental significance of the threatened Doan Brook watershed. The fight against the freeways also benefited from the fact that Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights were very prosperous suburbs filled with wealthy residents, some of whose homes faced destruction. Activists in the Heights pressured state and local leaders to reroute the freeways. In February 1970, Ohio Governor James Rhodes, who was running for the U.S. Senate that fall, finally scrapped the project. Porter's career ended in disgrace when he plead guilty to several counts of theft in office in 1979. The Nature Center remains open and has since taught generations of young people about the importance of the environment.

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