The Falls Friends Meetinghouse (III) - Fallsington Historic District - Fallsington, PA
N 40° 11.095 W 074° 49.180
18T E 515351 N 4448297
This is also know an the William Penn Center and currently this is used as a kindergarten and community center. When you first enter the village limits, the Meetinghouse cemetery will be on your left and just up on the left is this waymark.
Waymark Code: WM736Y
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/25/2009
Views: 2
This was the third meetinghouse built for this small community. It is reminiscent with the late 18th century/early 19th century meetinghouses still surviving in West Jersey. It was built in 1789, the year of George Washington’s inauguration, to accommodate the growing membership of the Falls Meeting.
The meetinghouse is made of fieldstone with a wood frame interior. The meetinghouse was built following the schism in the Society of Friends and served as the meetinghouse of the Hicksite branch. Similar situations happened in Moorestown & Haddonfield, NJ as well as Philadelphia, PA. The structure was patterned after the Meetinghouse in Wrightstown, PA.
The village is listed with the NRHP as an historic district. This meetinghouse is of course a contributing structure. The Falls Friends Meeting is the current owner. At the entrance to the road which leads to this meetinghouse as well as the fourth meetinghouse (which is currently used) is a large historic marker which describes the history of both of these old "churches" and tells about William Penn's visit to these parts.
About the Historic District
Fallsington is an authentic 300-year-old Quaker settlement. This village pre-dates other Friends historic districts by at least 50 years. Little known, and underrepresented in history books, it is one of the best existing examples of authentic pre-colonial life in America. There is a decent history of this village found in a nice book called The Buried Past: an Archaeological History of Philadelphia By John L. Cotter, Daniel G. Roberts, Michael Parrington. It can be found on Google Books which can be found SOURCE
HERE (page 363-367). One last interesting note, looking at Google Earth, it is clear to see this village, via Main Street, was at one time connected to the Lincoln Highway.
District Nomination Form Narrative
In 1971, the Village of Fallsington was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. This nationally-registered historic district takes its name from nearby "Falls of the Delaware." Immediately surrounding the historic district is a neighborhood of residences of various ages, circa 1700's to 1990's. This meetinghouse is one of thirty structures which make up the historic district. It is one of four Meetinghouses which have been built in this village. The following
limited text is excerpted from the original district nomination form submitted to the Department of Interior in 1971.
William Penn Center, 1789, the third Meeting House, now used as a Community Center.
SOURCE
Address
9300 New Falls Road
Fallsington, PA 19054