Union Village, established in 1805, was the first and largest Shaker community west of the Allegheny Mountains. Nearly 4,000 Shakers lived there, with the last living there until 1920. They owned 4,500 acres of land with more than 100 buildings, and Union Village became the parent community for other Shaker settlements in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Georgia. Among the most successful religious communal societies in the United States, the Shakers believed in equality of men and women, separation of sexes, confession, communal ownership of property, and celibacy. Their name came from the shaking and dancing that were part of their worship. At Union Village they became successful entrepreneurs, selling herbal medicines, garden seeds, and brooms, and raising and breeding Poland China hogs, Durham cattle, and Merino sheep. Buildings still standing include the 1810 Trustees' Office, now Marble Hall, the 1844 Center House, now Bethany Hall, and the 1893 Engine/Boiler House. Union Village was purchased by the United Brethren in Christ Church in 1912, then served as a home for children from 1913 to 1963 and as a retirement center for adults from 1913 to the present, and it is related to the United Methodist Church.