Arch Street Friends Meeting House, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a Friends Meeting House of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). It is the oldest meetinghouse of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) still in use in the United States.
Pennsylvania founder and Quaker William Penn donated the land to the Society in 1693 as a burial ground for members. The meetinghouse was built between 1803 and 1805 atop the graveyard and then enlarged in 1811, when the west wing was added to accommodate the Women's Monthly Meeting. The original east wing now houses exhibits on the life of Penn, and the west wing is used for meetings for worship.
Notable members have included abolitionist Lucretia Mott. Edward Hicks, the noted painter and cousin of Elias Hicks, attended the yearly meeting.
The meeting house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2011.
Arch Street Friends Meeting House
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By kkeps @ 2012-07-17 18:34:05
MathTeacher
@ 2013-09-05 19:28:36
I first visited this site on September 5, 2011 and waymarked the heck out of it especially because it is listed on the NRHP. I was particularly interested in this and the other nearby meetinghouses as I sat for Meeting for Worship all through the high school I attended in New Town, PA. There is an out of place grave out front belonging to Dr. Edward Owen and rumor has it, a lot more graves are hidden about the property as well. Finally, in case you are keeping score at home, this is the oldest Friends Meeting House still in use in Philadelphia and the largest in the world. Philadelphia is a city full of firsts, lasts and other superlatives. Thanks for posting this important and historic site.