Friends Meetinghouse in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Marks 325th Anniversary

The Portsmouth Friends Church, the town’s oldest surviving building and one of the nation’s earliest Quaker houses of worship, marked its 325th anniversary on Saturday with a gathering that mixed history, reflection and quiet celebration. The white clapboard meetinghouse at 11 Middle Road has stood through storms, wars, near-demolition and dwindling membership. On Saturday it was filled with people honoring both the age of the structure and what the source describes as the enduring ideals of the Society of Friends.

Town Historian Jim Garman, one of several residents who helped save the meetinghouse from sale in 2020, called it “by far the oldest standing building in this town.” Garman traced its history from its construction in 1700 to its role in the Revolutionary War. He said the Battle of Rhode Island in 1778 spilled onto Turkey Hill, just outside the building, and that Hessian troops occupied the structure, leaving cannonballs that are still displayed inside. The meetinghouse also briefly hosted the fledgling Moses Brown School before it moved to Providence. The interior woodwork was updated in 1887, though much of the structure remains original.

Emcee John Nutt Jr. told the audience that the Quakers who first worshiped there were a radical and courageous group, persecuted for beliefs that sound commonplace today. He said they saw everyone as equal, a view that was unpopular in the 1600s and 1700s. Nutt pointed to a simple graveyard behind the building, where a large stone reads “In memory of Friends unknown,” marking a wide plot with no individual headstones. He also summarized Quaker principles often captured by the acronym SPICES: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship.

The gathering also recalled a period when the building’s future was uncertain. The meetinghouse faced closure in 2017 when national Quaker leadership ordered it shut down. It sat vacant for three years until a “For Sale” sign appeared, which alarmed the town. David Chatowsky, pastor of Portsmouth Friends Church, said, “This is just a building, but you are the church,” and recalled talk that the site might become a gas station. Matthew Kent, who first came to the meetinghouse as a student in the 1980s, said, “It’s not a museum or a social hall. It’s a church. We worship God here.”

Kent helped lead efforts to restore the building and add modest amenities, including bathrooms and an ADA ramp, without disturbing its historic façade. According to the source, volunteers repaired the structure, paid off a mortgage within five years, and reopened the building in 2020. Kent said, to applause, “Ohio did not own the property; we owned the property.” The congregation remains small, with about 15 to 20 worshipers on Sundays, but the source reports that the building now hosts weekly services, potluck meals and community events.

The source also describes Quaker practices that shaped the congregation’s early years. As early as 1705, the Portsmouth congregation built an addition so women could meet and vote separately, which the source calls a radical gesture for its time. By 1774, members were required to free any enslaved people they held or leave the society. During the Revolution, Friends refused to fight and held to pacifist principles even as battles raged nearby, a stance that echoes Matthew 5:9 in its emphasis on peacemaking.

R.I. Sen. Linda Ujifusa, who lives in Portsmouth, said those principles still matter. She noted that the Quakers were among the few groups to oppose the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, including her own mother’s family. “They not only spoke out against the internment, they also helped the Japanese and our families,” she said. “These stories aren’t just history lessons. They are reminders that it is possible to act on your conscience, even when you’re standing alone.”

Source: Read the original report