White Water is one of 24 communal villages founded between 1787 and 1824 by the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, generally called "Shakers." It is the only one of four Ohio Shaker villages retaining most of its
original structures.
Shaker Village of White Water has 22 original structures that have been restored. The village came to an end in the early 1900s after a fire destroyed the largest building in the community.
The original village dates back to 1822 when a group of Shakers living near Lebanon, Ohio, came to the area to share their religion with several families living in the area. These contacts led to these families converting to the Shaker way of life. Together they formed a new communal settlement in Hamilton County along the Whitewater River where they found plenty of timber and good farm land. Some of the early converts donated their land to the group.
The village is located 22 miles west of downtown Cincinnati and five miles from Interstate-74 in the Miami Whitewater Forest Hamilton County Park near Harrison, Ohio, on Oxford Road between New Haven and the Butler County line.