Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky’s largest national historic landmark, has become a prominent opponent in the fight against a proposed Mercer County data center.
The nonprofit that runs the site near Harrodsburg has a mission to preserve the physical remnants of the early progressive religious sect. Now, its CEO, Billy Rankin, is using that philosophy — one of community values and pastoral living — to oppose the tech development just a mile from the once-home to hundreds of Shakers.
In the mid-19th century, the Shakers numbered in the thousands. They first came from England, settling along in Northeast before missionaries migrated west to Ohio and Kentucky. Today, across the globe, just two Shakers remain.…