Beekman Meeting House and Friends' Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Beekman Meeting House and Friends' Cemetery is located on Emans Road in LaGrangeville
, New York, United States. The meeting house
is a wooden building from the early 19th century that has been unused and vacant for decades. As a result, it is in an advanced state of decay, and mostly collapsed. The cemetery, better preserved, is located a short distance away.
The meeting house was built in 1809 for a meeting that split off from another one in the nearby hamlet of Oswego. After the Hicksite-Orthodox schism in 1828, it was one of only two meetings in the county to embrace Orthodox Quakerism. After that meeting dissolved in the early 20th century, it was for a time a Grange hall. It and its nearby cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1989.
NY 82
a mile north of the Taconic State Parkway
's Arthursburg exit. It is located on an overgrown lot of just under an acre returning to forest
at the northeast corner of the Pulling Road intersection. The neighborhood is residential, with houses on large, mostly cleared lots in an otherwise wooded area. There is a small, swampy pond to the east.
Only the northernmost section of the house remains standing, a small service wing of the original building. It is a shed-roofed one-and-a-half-story frame
structure sided in clapboard. A boarded-up window is located in the apex of the building; an open frame is on the ground story. The south side is an exposed interior wall with doorways and openings to the kitchen intact. It is painted white; the similar paint on the exterior walls has mostly faded and flaked off. On the ground to the south are scattered wooden debris roughly corresponding to the house's onetime footprint.
It is not certain whether the cemetery and meetinghouse were originally on the same large parcel. The pond is directly between the two, and there is no evidence of a path. It may have been chosen as the cemetery site since it was on a rise and drier than the land closer to the meetinghouse where a cemetery would usually be located.
. They sought less settled areas, where they could practice their religion without being disturbed or perseucted
and live lives closer to nature and God. In the later 18th century, Quaker emigrations dwindled both as the county grew, and especially during the Revolutionary War
as it became more militarized.
The meeting was founded in the years just before 1800 by members of the nearby Oswego Meeting
in Moore's Mill when there were enough of them who lived in what was still at the time part of the Town of Beekman
to constitute their own meeting. Their first meeting house, of which no traces remain, was a simple square building, unevenly divided inside with separate entrances for men and women, a feature common in Quaker meetinghouses of that era.
By 1809 the Beekman meeting had grown so quickly it was necessary to construct a new building, the one whose wing remains today. In keeping with updated Quaker practice, it was a long building with moderately pitched
gable
roof and a full-width porch on the west elevation. The original plan called for a 33 by with 11 feet (3.4 m) posts, but the superior meeting ordered the post height reduced a foot (30.5 cm) and the final building varied slightly even from those plans.
The interior had a sliding center partition. Its materials were finely crafted but restrained in decoration, per Quaker doctrine calling for plainness. It was similar to the extant building at Oswego, unsurprising since the Beekman meeting had originally been part of that group.
In 1828 the Hicksite–Orthodox split occurred in American Quakerism. The Beekman meeting was one of only two in the county to take the latter path, in which believers built meetinghouses more like traditional churches and adopted other religious practices. Unlike other Orthodox meetings, the Beekman Friends never hired a pastor
, and as a result its meetings became irregular by the early 20th century.
The local Grange began renting the house for meetings, as it did at the Creek
and Pleasant Valley meetings, also in Dutchess County. By the 1920s it took over ownership. Twenty years later, it, too, began declining in membership and eventually ceased to exist, leaving the meeting house to deteriorate. With no organization or person behind it doing regular maintenance, the building had become seriously dilapidated by the time it was listed on the Register with some of the other early meetinghouses in the county in 1988. That decline has continued to the point where little of it remains standing today.
LaGrange, New York
LaGrange is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population was 14,928 at the 2000 census. The town was named after the ancestral estate of the Marquis de Lafayette.-History:...
, New York, United States. The meeting house
Friends meeting house
A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends , where meeting for worship may be held.-History:Quakers do not believe that meeting for worship should take place in any special place. They believe that "where two or three meet together in my name, I am there among...
is a wooden building from the early 19th century that has been unused and vacant for decades. As a result, it is in an advanced state of decay, and mostly collapsed. The cemetery, better preserved, is located a short distance away.
The meeting house was built in 1809 for a meeting that split off from another one in the nearby hamlet of Oswego. After the Hicksite-Orthodox schism in 1828, it was one of only two meetings in the county to embrace Orthodox Quakerism. After that meeting dissolved in the early 20th century, it was for a time a Grange hall. It and its nearby cemetery were added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1989.
Meetinghouse
The house is located on Emans Road, which runs parallel to state highwayState highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
NY 82
New York State Route 82
New York State Route 82 is a state highway in the eastern Hudson Valley of New York, United States. It begins at an intersection with NY 52 northeast of the village of Fishkill, bends eastward towards Millbrook, and then returns westward to end at a junction with U.S. Route 9,...
a mile north of the Taconic State Parkway
Taconic State Parkway
The Taconic State Parkway , is a divided highway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest parkway in the U.S. state of New York. It follows a generally northward route midway between the Hudson River and the Connecticut and Massachusetts state lines...
's Arthursburg exit. It is located on an overgrown lot of just under an acre returning to forest
Reforestation
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation....
at the northeast corner of the Pulling Road intersection. The neighborhood is residential, with houses on large, mostly cleared lots in an otherwise wooded area. There is a small, swampy pond to the east.
Only the northernmost section of the house remains standing, a small service wing of the original building. It is a shed-roofed one-and-a-half-story frame
Framing (construction)
Framing, in construction known as light-frame construction, is a building technique based around structural members, usually called studs, which provide a stable frame to which interior and exterior wall coverings are attached, and covered by a roof comprising horizontal ceiling joists and sloping...
structure sided in clapboard. A boarded-up window is located in the apex of the building; an open frame is on the ground story. The south side is an exposed interior wall with doorways and openings to the kitchen intact. It is painted white; the similar paint on the exterior walls has mostly faded and flaked off. On the ground to the south are scattered wooden debris roughly corresponding to the house's onetime footprint.
Cemetery
The cemetery is on a separate parcel on the south side of Pulling Road, 600 feet (182.9 m) southeast of the meetinghouse. A small path goes to it between two new houses. It is a small, quiet graveyard surrounded by woods, with stones dating to the mid-19th century. Of the Quaker graveyards in the county, it is the one closest to the original prinicples.It is not certain whether the cemetery and meetinghouse were originally on the same large parcel. The pond is directly between the two, and there is no evidence of a path. It may have been chosen as the cemetery site since it was on a rise and drier than the land closer to the meetinghouse where a cemetery would usually be located.
History
Throughout the 18th century, Quakers had moved into Dutchess County from other regions of the colonies, particularly New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. They sought less settled areas, where they could practice their religion without being disturbed or perseucted
Religious persecution
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or lack thereof....
and live lives closer to nature and God. In the later 18th century, Quaker emigrations dwindled both as the county grew, and especially during the Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
as it became more militarized.
The meeting was founded in the years just before 1800 by members of the nearby Oswego Meeting
Oswego Meeting House and Friends' Cemetery
Oswego Meeting House and Friends' Cemetery is a historic Society of Friends meeting house and cemetery in Moore's Mill, Dutchess County, New York. It was built in 1790 and is a -story frame building sided with clapboards and wooden shingles. It has a moderately pitched gable roof and two entrances...
in Moore's Mill when there were enough of them who lived in what was still at the time part of the Town of Beekman
Beekman, New York
Beekman is a town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the larger New York–Newark–Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA Combined Statistical Area. The population was 11,452 at the 2000...
to constitute their own meeting. Their first meeting house, of which no traces remain, was a simple square building, unevenly divided inside with separate entrances for men and women, a feature common in Quaker meetinghouses of that era.
By 1809 the Beekman meeting had grown so quickly it was necessary to construct a new building, the one whose wing remains today. In keeping with updated Quaker practice, it was a long building with moderately pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
roof and a full-width porch on the west elevation. The original plan called for a 33 by with 11 feet (3.4 m) posts, but the superior meeting ordered the post height reduced a foot (30.5 cm) and the final building varied slightly even from those plans.
The interior had a sliding center partition. Its materials were finely crafted but restrained in decoration, per Quaker doctrine calling for plainness. It was similar to the extant building at Oswego, unsurprising since the Beekman meeting had originally been part of that group.
In 1828 the Hicksite–Orthodox split occurred in American Quakerism. The Beekman meeting was one of only two in the county to take the latter path, in which believers built meetinghouses more like traditional churches and adopted other religious practices. Unlike other Orthodox meetings, the Beekman Friends never hired a pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
, and as a result its meetings became irregular by the early 20th century.
The local Grange began renting the house for meetings, as it did at the Creek
Creek Meeting House and Friends' Cemetery
Creek Meeting House and Friends' Cemetery is a historic Society of Friends meeting house and cemetery on Salt Point Turnpike/Main Street in Clinton Corners, Dutchess County, New York. It is located directly across the street from the Clinton Corners Friends Church. It was built between 1777 and...
and Pleasant Valley meetings, also in Dutchess County. By the 1920s it took over ownership. Twenty years later, it, too, began declining in membership and eventually ceased to exist, leaving the meeting house to deteriorate. With no organization or person behind it doing regular maintenance, the building had become seriously dilapidated by the time it was listed on the Register with some of the other early meetinghouses in the county in 1988. That decline has continued to the point where little of it remains standing today.