Middletown Friends Meetinghouse

Middletown Preparative Friends Meetinghouse is a historic Quaker meeting house at 513 N Old Middletown Road in Lima, Middletown Township,[1] Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of the oldest Friends meetinghouses in what was originally Chester County.[2]

Middletown Preparative Meetinghouse front view
Middletown Preparative Meetinghouse at 513 N Old Middletown Rd
Active Middletown Friends Meeting House Lima PA at 435 N Middletown Road
Interior of Middletown Friends Meetinghouse from Historic American Buildings Survey Photo
Benches inside Middletown Friends Meetinghouse from Historic American Buildings Survey Photo

The first mention of an organized Friends meeting in Middletown Township was in 1686.[3] The location and construction of a meetinghouse was noted in 1699 and the Middletown Friends Meetinghouse was completed in 1702.[4] After a doctrinal split amongst Philadelphai Quakers, a number of "orthodox" members were forced out of the Meeting. They built another meetinghouse slightly to the south in 1835.

During the 1790s, the building was doubled in size through the addition of a separate apartment. In the 1880s, the meetinghouse was reconfigured creating a more church-like appearance and orientation.[5]

The other Middletown Friends meetinghouse at 435 N Middletown Road is an active worship center.[6]

John Edwards, the Congressman from Pennsylvania is interred at the Middletown Friends Meetinghouse cemetery.[7]

References
  1. "Zoning Map" (PDF). Middletown Township. Retrieved 2020-04-23. – The map indicates a "Friends Meeting" location.
  2. Lavoie, Catherine. "Historic American Buildings Survey" (PDF). www.loc.gov. U.S. Department of Interior. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  3. Jordan, John W (1912). A History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania and Its People. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 396. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  4. Ashmeade, Henry Graham (1884). History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co. p. 613. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  5. Lavoie, Catherine. "Historic American Buildings Survey" (PDF). www.cdn.loc.gov. U.S. Department of Interior. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  6. "Middletown Quakers website". middletownquakers.org. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  7. "Edward, John (1786–1843)". www.bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 26 April 2018.

39.924268°N 75.443558°W / 39.924268; -75.443558

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