Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse

Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Pennsylvania state historical marker
Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse, HABS Photograph
Location	Corner of Germantown and Butler Pikes, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°6′8″N 75°16′48″W / 40.10222°N 75.28000°WCoordinates: 40°6′8″N 75°16′48″W / 40.10222°N 75.28000°W
Area	5 acres (2.0 ha)
Built	1708
Architectural style	Colonial
NRHP Reference #	71000714[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	February 18, 1971
Designated PHMC	May 15, 1955[2]

Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse is a historic Quaker meeting house located at the corner of Germantown and Butler Pikes in Plymouth Meeting, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Plymouth Meeting Historic District, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.^[1]

It was built in 1708, and is constructed of native limestone. A wing was added in 1780, and the interior was rebuilt in 1867 following a fire. The porch was also added in 1867, and a rear wing added in 1945.

During the American Revolutionary War, the building served as a temporary military hospital. Troops under the Marquis de Lafayette camped on the grounds prior to the May 20, 1778 Battle of Barren Hill. The meeting house was a hub of activity during the Underground Railroad. Lucretia Mott lectured across the street at Abolition Hall, and is known to have attended the meeting. Artist and teacher Thomas Hovenden (1840-1895) was a member of the meeting and is buried in the adjacent cemetery.^[3]

Plymouth Meeting Friends School is under the care of the meeting and is located on site.

Several scenes in the historical novel The Quakeress (1905) by Max Adler take place in the meetinghouse.

• 

  Interior.

• 

  Burial ground.

• 

  William Jeanes Memorial Library, built 1935.

References

1. Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
2. "PHMC Historical Markers". Historical Marker Database. Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
3. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes Helen Reichart Mirras (December 1969). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Plymouth Friends Meetinghouse" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-05-24.