Museum tours are self-guided unless a guided tour is scheduled in advance. We offer guided group tours for 2-25 visitors through the Shaker Historical Society Museum and the Elizabeth Nord Library & Archives. These tours are designed for a general audience but can be customized for academic or specific interests with advance notice. Led by SHS staff, tours must be booked at least 10 business days in advance and typically last 60-90 minutes.

Your guided tour will cover approximately 150 years of local history from the founding of the North Union Shaker colony to the development of Shaker Village as a garden community outside Cleveland to the civil rights movement in Shaker Heights. If requested in advance, tourgoers will also have the opportunity to view items from the archival collections of the Elizabeth Nord Library & Archives. 

Tour Fees*: 

$100: 2-9 guests

$200: 10-19 guests 

$250: 20-25 guests 

Tours are a great opportunity to learn more about your community, better understand the Shaker Heights story in regional and national contexts, and connect with your fellow tour attendees! 

Ready to schedule a tour? Complete this form and a Shaker Historical Society staff member will be in touch in 3-5 business days to confirm your tour. 

Questions? Please contact education@shakerhistory.org. 

Note: Advance notice is required to access specific archival items or request a customized tour. Some objects may be unavailable due to archival conservation practices.

*SHS members receive 10% off of group tours and field trips. Please contact education@shakerhistory.org for more information.

If you are interested in learning about Shaker Heights at your convenience, please download one of our driving or bike tours:

• Driving Tour: History-Making Homes

• Bike Shaker 2021: Welcome to Shaker Heights

• Bike Shaker 2021: History-Making Homes

• Bike Shaker 2021: Exclusion & Inclusion: Shaker Heights' Racial Past

We also offer self-guided tours of Warrensville West Cemetery as part of our collaboration with the City of Shaker Heights and the Shaker Heights Public Library Local History Department to preserve the second-oldest cemetery in Cuyahoga County. You can learn more about this collaboration here.

• Veterans Day 2021 Tour

• May 2022 Tour - Researched/developed in part by Liah Townsley and Dohwan Kim as part of the Humanities@Work Micro-Internship Initiative through CWRU's Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities