{"nrhp_refnum":"77001129","name":"Newtown Friends Meetinghouse and Cemetery","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Court St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Newtown","county":"Bucks County","state":"PA","lat":40.22563121500008,"lon":-74.93567157799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-07-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Quaker meetinghouse with a horse shed and a small burial ground in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, built in 1817 as the main part of the meetinghouse.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the meetinghouse is an excellent example of a 19th-century Quaker meetinghouse, with simple, uncomplicated design and little alteration since construction. It is tied to Edward Hicks, the primitive painter who helped found the congregation and served as its first minister. The meetinghouse, horse shed and cemetery are presented as a fine example of a 19th-century religious complex.","narrative":"A Quaker meetinghouse in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the main part of which was built in 1817 after the Bucks Quarterly Meeting of Friends granted permission at the request of Edward Hicks and other Newtown Friends. The building is plain and undecorated, reflecting the simple style Quakers required, and it has changed little since construction, retaining most of its original hardware and furnishings. A long horse shed, built in 1819 so members could shelter their horses during meetings, stands alongside; six stalls remain, three of them enclosed for storage. A small cemetery next to the meetinghouse holds many early stones. Edward Hicks, the founder and first minister of the meeting, is buried there. He was a sign painter who turned to easel painting after becoming a Quaker and moving to Newtown, and he became known as a leading American primitive painter. The meetinghouse is regarded as important to his life and work, and as a fine example of a nineteenth-century religious complex central to its members' lives.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"In excellent condition, with little alteration since construction and most original hardware and furnishings; six horse shed stalls remain, three of which have been enclosed and are used for storage.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:29.329206-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/77001129.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001129/3c0b06c1a8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001129/3c0b06c1a8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Shuvaev","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newtown_Friends_Meetinghouse.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Shuvaev</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Newtown_Friends_Meetinghouse.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"79002174","name":"Newtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/pennsylvania/newtown-historic-district-79002174/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996753","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newtown_Friends_Meetinghouse_and_Cemetery","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7020709"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/bucks-county/newtown-friends-meetinghouse-and-cemetery-77001129/"}