By virtue of William Penn's intentions and practices, Quaker values permeated Pennsylvania from its beginning. The government was Quaker controlled through 1756. Many Quakers of the first half of the nineteenth century were involved in a sisterhood of reform movements that included education, women's rights, and abolition. Remnant Quaker influence is embodied in a number of modest meetinghouses of Delaware and Pennsylvania within the region scribed Around the Delaware Arc and on campuses of Swarthmore and Haverford colleges.
A turn of the century Quaker, John Russell Hayes poeticized about many meetinghouses of the region, drawing out their power to evoke memory and feeling in an extended poem "Old Meeting Houses."
["William Penn" pp.79-80, "William Penn's Holy Experiment" pp. 82-83, and "Quakers" pp. 84-85]
The Tour: Quaker Roots and Ways
I. Wilmington Meeting
Wilmington Meeting sits atop the neighborhood known as Quaker Hill. The current Meetinghouse dates from 1817. On the grounds is a graveyard where remains of Thomas Dickinson (signer of the Declaration of Independence) and Thomas Garrett (Underground Railroad "stationmaster") are interred. Visitors are always welcome to attend a silent Quaker meeting on First Day (Sunday) at 10 in the morning. The room is tranquil, architecturally interesting, and transports one back in time nearly two centuries.
Wilmington Meeting sits atop the neighborhood known as Quaker Hill. The current Meetinghouse dates from 1817. On the grounds is a graveyard where remains of Thomas Dickinson (signer of the Declaration of Independence) and Thomas Garrett (Underground Railroad "stationmaster") are interred. Visitors are always welcome to attend a silent Quaker meeting on First Day (Sunday) at 10 in the morning. The room is tranquil, architecturally interesting, and transports one back in time nearly two centuries.
II. Tubman-Garrett Statue
Near the Wilmington Meetinghouse is the Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park with a grand statue commemorating the collaboration between Harriet Tubman and Thomas Garrett in guiding fugitive slaves to freedom in the perilous antebellum era. Around the Delaware Arc has vignettes of both Garrett and Tubman. ["Thomas Garrett" pp.119-120, "HarrietTubman" pp.122-123]
Near the Wilmington Meetinghouse is the Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park with a grand statue commemorating the collaboration between Harriet Tubman and Thomas Garrett in guiding fugitive slaves to freedom in the perilous antebellum era. Around the Delaware Arc has vignettes of both Garrett and Tubman. ["Thomas Garrett" pp.119-120, "HarrietTubman" pp.122-123]
III. Center Meeting
Just inside the Arc, Center Meeting sits in the midst of rural, rolling hillsides around Brandywine Creek. The comely red brick Meetinghouse has a horse shed and graveyard.
Just inside the Arc, Center Meeting sits in the midst of rural, rolling hillsides around Brandywine Creek. The comely red brick Meetinghouse has a horse shed and graveyard.
IV. Birminghman Meeting
Because of its association with the Battle of Brandywine (1777), Birmingham Meeting, on the road to West Chester, is arguably the best known of Quaker Meetings of the region. It served as a field hospital during the battle. Near the common grave of Colonial, British, and Hessian mass grave is a Peace Garden to invite contemplation. Also on the grounds is an octagonal building, once a schoolhouse. Outside the main entrance to the walled graveyard is a monument to Lafayette who nearby had sustained a wound in his first battle. ["Peace Garden at Birmingham" pp.48-49]
Because of its association with the Battle of Brandywine (1777), Birmingham Meeting, on the road to West Chester, is arguably the best known of Quaker Meetings of the region. It served as a field hospital during the battle. Near the common grave of Colonial, British, and Hessian mass grave is a Peace Garden to invite contemplation. Also on the grounds is an octagonal building, once a schoolhouse. Outside the main entrance to the walled graveyard is a monument to Lafayette who nearby had sustained a wound in his first battle. ["Peace Garden at Birmingham" pp.48-49]
V. Westown School
Westown School is a Quaker school founded in 1799 to preserve Quaker values among their children in a setting outside the secular influences of Philadelphia. Around the Delaware Arc has a vignette about this oldest, continuously operating coeducational boarding school in the country: Westtown School. Wikipedia offers an overview of the school. ["Westtown School" pp. 90-91]
Westown School is a Quaker school founded in 1799 to preserve Quaker values among their children in a setting outside the secular influences of Philadelphia. Around the Delaware Arc has a vignette about this oldest, continuously operating coeducational boarding school in the country: Westtown School. Wikipedia offers an overview of the school. ["Westtown School" pp. 90-91]
VI. Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College (1864) has handsome nineteenth century buildings and an arboretum-like campus that reflects Quaker investment in value-rich higher education.
Swarthmore College (1864) has handsome nineteenth century buildings and an arboretum-like campus that reflects Quaker investment in value-rich higher education.
VII.Chichester Meeting
An early Meetinghouse with graveyard, also involved in the Battle of Brandywine, is Chichester Meeting in Boothwyn PA. The front doors have bullet holes from a Battle of Brandywine skirmish.
An early Meetinghouse with graveyard, also involved in the Battle of Brandywine, is Chichester Meeting in Boothwyn PA. The front doors have bullet holes from a Battle of Brandywine skirmish.
Food suggestions: Arguably West Chester offers the best and most varied concentration of good dining experiences in the region Around the Delaware Arc, including the length of Gay Street that is the heart of the downtown. After visiting Westtown School (it has a West Chester address), stroll Gay Street to pair your appetite with your Quaker experiences. Here is an Iron Hill Brewery that serves up a savory bowl of mushroom soup with toothsome fresh bread.
