In Memory of James Thomas

By Keith L. Runyon 

James Thomas, the nationally noted preservationist whose lifetime of work at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill transformed a fading Kentucky historic site into one of the nation’s most admired restoration projects, died Nov. 24 at his home in Mercer County. He was 86. 

He is survived by his wife, Susanna, and their two sons, Ian and Mason. 

Mr. Thomas devoted more than four decades to Pleasant Hill, a former Shaker settlement overlooking the Kentucky River. When he entered the project in the 1960s, the property’s thirty-four surviving buildings were in various stages of decline, and the Shakers — a celibate Christian sect known for its communal living, pacifism and austere craftsmanship — had not yet entered the broad public consciousness. 

The initiative to restore the Shaker Village was initiated by a group of civic-minded Lexingtonians in 1961, led by Earl D. Wallace and Joseph Graves. By 1964, the year Mr. Thomas was hired, the Friends of Pleasant Hill had organized a non-profit and raised funds for operating expenses. They secured a $2 million loan to purchase and restore the site. Later, Mr. Wallace was able to have the loan forgiven. 

The revival of interest in Kentucky’s Shaker heritage was advanced by Louisville civic leaders, including the Courier-Journal editor and publisher Barry Bingham Sr., his wife, Mary, as well as editorial writer and arts patron Adele Brandeis, whose advocacy for American folk traditions helped bring renewed attention to Pleasant Hill. Their support, as well as that of many others, helped create the cultural conditions in which Mr. Thomas’s work would flourish. 

By the time Mr. Thomas retired in 2004, Pleasant Hill had become a nationally recognized model of historic interpretation, architectural restoration and landscape stewardship. Scholars frequently cited the project as one of the most complete and faithful reconstructions of any Shaker site in the United States.