Main Street Friends Meeting House - Medford Twp., NJ
N 39° 53.855 W 074° 49.338
18S E 515191 N 4416405
This meeting house was built in 1842 following a theological dispute that led to a separation between Orthodox & Hicksite friends in 1827. In 1955, the Medford Friends finally reunited under one yearly meeting in 1955. It is brand new to the NRHP/
Waymark Code: WMCHNE
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 09/09/2011
Views: 2
It was only a matter of time before this meetinghouse was added to the NRHP and as of sixteen days ago (today being September 9, 2011), it was made official. I often wondered why it was not on the registry as the neighboring 9 other meetinghouses already obtained that status. There is really no difference between this meetinghouse and the others in West Jersey except this meetinghouse was erected in the mid 19th century making it one of the newer such structures.
From what I can tell this meeting house is no longer operational. It became defunct in 1997. The other meeting house in Medford, located at 14 Union St is where Mefordians attend Meeting for Worship. I found a peculiar oddity when I searched their site on the web: Although the meeting has moved to Union St., they continue to post pictures of the other building (this waymark). Go figure!
History of the Meeting
The first Quaker Meeting in the Medford-Marlton area was established at Upper Evesham, now Medford, in the year of 1759. In the beginning, Meetings for Worship and Business were held in the building housing the school sponsored by Quakers residing in the area. This school house still stands behind the Union Street Meeting House.
By 1762 members decided that a Meeting House should be built. An L-shaped frame building was constructed on the southwest side of the Union Street property. By the year of 1812 membership had increased to such an extent that the Meeting appointed a committee to plan and erect a brick Meeting House to replace the original frame building. The first meeting was held on February 15, 1815.
A second Meeting House in Medford was erected on South Main Street in 1842.
In 1984, the interior of Union Street Meeting House was restored and and addition was built. This new section is used for religious, educational and social purposes.
The Meetinghouse has a Social Room which can be rented for meetings, lectures, or other functions. It has a full working kitchen.
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