The Chappaqua Friends Meeting House, built 1753, is the oldest Quaker meeting house in Westchester County, New York, a stop on the Underground Railroad and a birthplace of the abolitionist movement in New York.[1] In 1776 it would serve as a hospital for Continental Army soldiers injured at the nearby Battle of White Plains.[2] According to tradition, blood stains from the injured and dying soldiers were visible for years after on the meeting house floorboards. George Washington visited the soldiers there, tying his horse to a large tree that stood between the meeting house and the road. The tree was blown down by the 1904 Chappaqua tornado. Some of Washington's troops, retreating from the Battle of White Plains in 1776, passed the meeting house on their march to the Pines Bridge across the Croton River and eventually across the Hudson and onward to Pennsylvania where they camped before crossing the Delaware River to attack Trenton. In 1781, Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau's troops marched along the same route on their way to the Pines Bridge and eventually to Virginia, where they joined Washington's forces to defeat Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis at the Siege of Yorktown, which led to the end of the war. Part of the Old Chappaqua Historic District, it is a stop on the African American Heritage Trail of Westchester County.[3][4]
| Chappaqua Friends Meeting House | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Location | Chappaqua, New York |
| Coordinates | 41°10′24″N 73°46′38″W / 41.17333°N 73.77722°W |
| Created | 1753 |
| Status | By appointment |
In 2020, a Black Lives Matter sign in front of the house was defaced, prompting the organization to release a statement in support of the movement and its ideals.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Westchester's oldest Quaker meeting house was a birthplace of the anti-slavery movement in New York". News 12 - Westchester. February 16, 2023. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on 2015-07-01. Retrieved 2016-04-01. Note: This includes Lynn Beebe Weaver (October 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Old Chappaqua Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-04-01. and Accompanying six photographs
- ^ Taliaferro, Lanning (2020-08-04). "Vandals Deface Banner At Chappaqua Quaker Meeting House: Report". Chappaqua-Mount Kisco, NY Patch. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ Witaker, Barbara (2004-03-07). "HISTORY; A Trail That Traces a Heritage". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-08-08.
- ^ Stone, Adam (2020-08-06). "Black Lives Matter Sign Set on Fire in Chappaqua; Hate Crime Task Force Contacted". The Examiner News. Retrieved 2023-08-08.