Chichester Friends Meetinghouse
Why it's listed
Stone meetinghouse at Boothwyn, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, built in 1769 after an earlier meeting house burned in December 1768. The rectangular building has three bays on its east, west and north sides, a porch over the east entrance, and a datestone inscribed "B=D 1769" above the north door. Its nail-studded doors retain their original hardware, and the north door bears bullet holes from British foraging parties who fired on the closed doors in September 1777. Inside, vertical pine panelling surrounds the room, and a partition separates the men's and women's sections. Chichester Meeting was established as a Monthly Meeting in 1684, and in 1688 James Browne conveyed two acres of land to trustees for Quaker use. The building is valued as a typical example of an eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Quaker house of worship, and it remains very close to its late eighteenth-century appearance. A small stone outhouse, now a woodshed, stands in the southeast corner.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues that the building is a typical eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Quaker house of worship, with an interior partition separating male and female congregations. It is described as virtually unchanged since the late eighteenth century, with original doors, hardware and interior furnishings, and it is linked to Quaker meeting history dating from 1684.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 73001622, listed March 14, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 611 Meetinghouse Rd., Boothwyn |
|---|---|
| County | Delaware County |
| Listed | March 14, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73001622 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1769 |
| Areas of significance | Religion |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | In excellent condition on both the exterior and interior and well cared for; the carriage shed has been restored. |
| Acreage | 6 |
| Coordinates | 39.83650, -75.43103 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
Religious properties are listed for their architectural or historical significance, not their religious use. Listing is honorary and does not restrict the congregation's use of the building. The federal rehabilitation credit is generally unavailable unless part of the building is income-producing; some state programmes and preservation grants do cover religious buildings. Federal funding or permits trigger Section 106 review.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 73001622.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5095999
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.