Old Kennett Meetinghouse
Encyclopedia
Old Kennett Meetinghouse is a historic meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends
or "Quakers" in Kennett Township near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
. Kennett and Marlboro Townships were being colonized by farming Quaker families who joined with members of New Castle Meeting, Hockessin Meeting and Centre Meeting (near Centerville Delaware) every four to six weeks for business meetings at Newark (New Ark) Meeting. Then, as Newark Meeting dwindled away, the Meetings united at the Old Kennett Meeting house, which then came to bear the name of Newark after the meeting of that name ceased to exist. In May, 1760, the named changed as Friends of Newark Monthly Meeting requested that the name be altered from Newark to that of Kennett.
During the Revolutionary War these Quakers adopted an official attitude of neutrality, but it was in the cemetery adjoining the Old Kennett Meeting House that the first shots of the Battle of the Brandywine were fired on September 11, 1777. Although the British and Hessian forces were surprised as they came, 5000 strong, from Kennett that morning, the small American force led by General Maxwell was driven back to the north hills of Chadds Ford. The soldiers killed in the battle that afternoon are buried in the adjoining Old Kennett Cemetery.
During the nineteenth century the membership of Kennett Meeting suffered divisions. The first was in 1812 when a new Kennett Meeting was formed within the Borough of Kennett Square. Then in 1827 Friends split into conservative and liberal sects and by 1828 there were separate Kennett Monthly Meetings. The liberal group, the Hicksites, named after Elias Hicks, retained the old Kennett Meeting while the conservative Friends established Parkersville Friends Meetinghouse
which was used until 1904.
Although Quakers had released their slaves before the revolution, and worked to change the laws, those who could not agree to holding public anti-slavery meetings in the Meeting House made “progressive” friends so impatient that they left to form their own meeting. The Progressive Friends built the Longwood Meeting House and were disowned until 1874. The meetinghouse has hosted visitors including Lucretia Mott
, William Lloyd Garrison
, Sojourner Truth
, Susan B. Anthony
, and Harriet Tubman
.
Gradually the membership of Old Kennett Meeting dwindled until in the early 1920s Meetings for Worship might have only one or two members sitting in the stillness of the ancient building. Since 1950 the Old Kennett Committee of Kennett Meeting (Kennett Square) has maintained the building, opening it for worship on the last Sunday of June, July, and August at 11 a.m. In July 1974 the Old Kennett Meeting house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
, making it nationally recognized as a historically and architecturally significant structure.
Old Kennett's tercentennial was celebrated in 2010 with a lecture series and historical tours being held at the meetinghouse. The meetinghouse is still open for Quaker worship on the last Sundays of June, July and August at 11am and for occasional weddings, funerals and other events. Look for news about Old Kennett Meeting at www.kennettfriends.org, the site run by the Kennett Friends Meeting, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
or "Quakers" in Kennett Township near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.
History
The Kennett Monthly Meeting house now known as Old Kennett was first constructed in 1710 on land owned by Ezekiel Harlan, deeded from William PennWilliam Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
. Kennett and Marlboro Townships were being colonized by farming Quaker families who joined with members of New Castle Meeting, Hockessin Meeting and Centre Meeting (near Centerville Delaware) every four to six weeks for business meetings at Newark (New Ark) Meeting. Then, as Newark Meeting dwindled away, the Meetings united at the Old Kennett Meeting house, which then came to bear the name of Newark after the meeting of that name ceased to exist. In May, 1760, the named changed as Friends of Newark Monthly Meeting requested that the name be altered from Newark to that of Kennett.
During the Revolutionary War these Quakers adopted an official attitude of neutrality, but it was in the cemetery adjoining the Old Kennett Meeting House that the first shots of the Battle of the Brandywine were fired on September 11, 1777. Although the British and Hessian forces were surprised as they came, 5000 strong, from Kennett that morning, the small American force led by General Maxwell was driven back to the north hills of Chadds Ford. The soldiers killed in the battle that afternoon are buried in the adjoining Old Kennett Cemetery.
During the nineteenth century the membership of Kennett Meeting suffered divisions. The first was in 1812 when a new Kennett Meeting was formed within the Borough of Kennett Square. Then in 1827 Friends split into conservative and liberal sects and by 1828 there were separate Kennett Monthly Meetings. The liberal group, the Hicksites, named after Elias Hicks, retained the old Kennett Meeting while the conservative Friends established Parkersville Friends Meetinghouse
Parkersville Friends Meetinghouse
Parkersville Friends Meetinghouse is a historic Quaker meeting house in Parkersville, Pennsylvania.It was built in 1830 and added to the National Register in 1973....
which was used until 1904.
Although Quakers had released their slaves before the revolution, and worked to change the laws, those who could not agree to holding public anti-slavery meetings in the Meeting House made “progressive” friends so impatient that they left to form their own meeting. The Progressive Friends built the Longwood Meeting House and were disowned until 1874. The meetinghouse has hosted visitors including Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia Coffin Mott was an American Quaker, abolitionist, social reformer, and proponent of women's rights.- Early life and education:...
, William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
, Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was the self-given name, from 1843 onward, of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she...
, Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
, and Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
.
Gradually the membership of Old Kennett Meeting dwindled until in the early 1920s Meetings for Worship might have only one or two members sitting in the stillness of the ancient building. Since 1950 the Old Kennett Committee of Kennett Meeting (Kennett Square) has maintained the building, opening it for worship on the last Sunday of June, July, and August at 11 a.m. In July 1974 the Old Kennett Meeting house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, making it nationally recognized as a historically and architecturally significant structure.
Old Kennett's tercentennial was celebrated in 2010 with a lecture series and historical tours being held at the meetinghouse. The meetinghouse is still open for Quaker worship on the last Sundays of June, July and August at 11am and for occasional weddings, funerals and other events. Look for news about Old Kennett Meeting at www.kennettfriends.org, the site run by the Kennett Friends Meeting, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.