Arch Street Friends Meeting House
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Arch Street Friends Meeting House
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| Location: | 320 Arch Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
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| Coordinates: | 39°57′7.2″N 75°8′50.17″W / 39.952°N 75.1472694°WCoordinates: 39°57′7.2″N 75°8′50.17″W / 39.952°N 75.1472694°W |
| Area: | < 1-acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built: | 1804 |
| Architect: | Owen Biddle (1774–1806) |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 71000716[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | May 27, 1971 |
| Designated NHL: | June 23, 2011 |
Arch Street Friends Meeting House, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a Friends Meeting House of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). It is the oldest meetinghouse of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) still in use in the United States.
Pennsylvania founder and Quaker William Penn donated the land to the Society in 1693 as a burial ground for members. The meetinghouse was built between 1803 and 1805 atop the graveyard and then enlarged in 1811, when the west wing was added to accommodate the Women's Monthly Meeting. The original east wing now houses exhibits on the life of Penn, and the west wing is used for meetings for worship.
Notable members have included abolitionist Lucretia Mott.[2] Edward Hicks, the noted painter and cousin of Elias Hicks, attended the yearly meeting.[2]
The meeting house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2011.[3]
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[edit] Notable interments
The meetinghouse grounds were first used as a burial ground in 1701. Notable interments include:
- Charles Brockden Brown (1771–1810), the first American novelist (Wieland)[2][4]
- Samuel Carpenter (1649–1714) and most of his family and his brother Abraham Carpenter (a non-member who married a Quaker) were buried in the Friends Burial Ground. Samuel was a Deputy Governor under William Penn and the "First Treasurer" of Pennsylvania.
- Lydia Darrah (1728–1789), Revolutionary War spy[5]
- James Logan (1674–1751), secretary to William Penn[2]
- Samuel Nicholas (1744–1790), founder and first commandant of the United States Marine Corps[2][6] On November 10 of each year, his grave is marked with a wreath at dawn by a group of Marines.[7]
- Robert Waln (1765–1836), U.S. Congressman[8]
- Dr. Thomas Wynne (1627–1691) personal physician of William Penn and one of the original settlers of Philadelphia in the Province of Pennsylvania. Born in Wales, where his family dated back fifteen generations, he accompanied Penn on his original journey to America on the ship Welcome.
[edit] References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ a b c d e Article at USHistory.org
- ^ AMERICA’S GREAT OUTDOORS: Secretary Salazar Designates 14 New National Historic Landmarks, 06/30/2011
- ^ "Charles Brockden Brown". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10214180. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ "Lydia Darrah". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=28814348. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ "Samuel Nicholas". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8319772. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ Mucha, Peter (2008-11-11). "Ceremony honors Marine Corps founder". Philadelphia Inquirer. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20081111_Ceremony_honors_Marine_Corps_founder.html.
- ^ "Robert Waln". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7663074. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
[edit] Further reading
- Edwin B. Bronner, "Quaker Landmarks in Early Philadelphia", Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, New Ser., Vol. 43, No. 1 (1953), pp. 210–216.
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Listing and photographs at the Historic American Buildings Survey
- Listing at Philadelphia Architects and Buildings
- Arch Street Friends Meeting House at Find A Grave
- Listing at Visitphilly.com
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