The 1848 meetinghouse replaced a 1791 meetinghouse. It is a plain, wooden building decorated according to the Shaker rule that Meetinghouses should be painted white without, and of a bluish shade within. It was the only white building in the community, since, according to Shaker rules, no buildings may be painted white, save meeting houses. Three doors on the building`s northern side provide separate entrances for the brothers, the sisters, and the members of the ministry, who used the center door. The meetinghouse was located in the center of the village, and it served as the home of the ministers. The austere interior provided a large floor space for the dancing that was a central part of Shaker worship. Shakers openly treated black people as equals in their communities. There is strong evidence that the Watervliet Shakers also sheltered fugitive slaves and helped them flee to Canada.
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