Free Quaker Meeting House

When the call went out for able-bodied men to bear arms in the colonial militia, an unusual group of Quakers answered. These were "fighting" Quakers who could not reconcile themselves to the Quaker principle of pacifism when it came to defending their country. To join the war effort was a painful decision, for they knew they would be disowned or "read out" of their meetings. Thirty to Fifty men and women, including Betsy Ross, regularly attended this meeting. After the war, differences among the Quakers diminished, and by 1834 services stopped and the building no longer served as a place of worship.