Friends Meeting House - Mt. Holly Historic District - Mt. Holly, NJ
N 39° 59.733 W 074° 47.256
18S E 518131 N 4427284
Mt. Holly Friends history dates back to 1682, being one of the founding congregations of the Yearly Meeting of Friends of the Delaware then Phila. Yearly Meeting. This old building, typical of Quaker construction, still serves its original purpose.
Waymark Code: WMER52
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 06/30/2012
Views: 4
"The Friends Meeting House (not open to public), 77 Main St., is a red brick building of severely plain design, with white trim and a slate roof, erected 1775 and enlarged in 1850. The enlargement accurately follows the simplicity of the original style so that the new portion of the rectangular box is indistinguishable from the old. Two large sycamores and a growth of ivy soften the exterior. Within, the old benches show marks left by the butcher knives of the British commissary department at the time when enemy troops were quartered in the town." --- New Jersey, a Guide to Its Present and Past, 1939; page 294
I have often thought if all the existing 18th century meeting houses were placed side by side, one would be unrecognizable from the next. The Quakers definitely lived up to the simplicity principal as evident in their architectural honesty. The Meetinghouse is on High Street in the center of the historic town of Mt. Holly. Meeting for worship occurs every Sunday at 10:00 AM. Inexplicably, unlike everyone of its neighbors within 20 miles, this meetinghouse is NOT on the NRHP as an individual listing.
Naturally, a building this old and unique is also a contributing structure to the Mount Holly Historic District. In my never ending quest to document all things contributing, I visited the town town library to retrieve the nomination form and narratives for the historic district. The reference rewarded me with a very old packet from 1969. Despite what on-line sources would have you believe, there are actually 39 contributing structures and not 36.
From the Nomination Form:
5. FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE .... 1775 ....High and Garden Streets
Two and one-half story (originally one) rectangular church; low stone foundation with moulded brick water table; walls of common bond brick; two 1-story porches on side and one 2 bay porch in rear; one inside and end chimney; 12/12 windows flanked with panel shutters; gabled roof with box cornices; door on north side used by ladies to dismount directly into meeting house