Smithfield Friends Meeting House, Parsonage & Cemetery
Encyclopedia
Smithfield Friends Meeting House, Parsonage and Cemetery, is a Friends Meeting House
of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
, rebuilt in 1881. It is located at 108 Smithfield Road (Route 146A) in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
(across the street from North Smithfield). The meetinghouse is home to one of the oldest Quaker communities in the region.
Rhode Island
provided a home to many Quaker refugees in the 17th century, and in the early 18th century a group of "Friends" started this congregation. Their original Meeting House, built in 1719, was connected to a chain of Quaker Meeting Houses that were built along Great Road (near Union Village
and Smithfield Road Historic District
). It was destroyed by fire in 1881 and replaced by the current structure.
The forested area directly to the north of the meeting house is a natural cemetery. Roughly 300 Friends from the 18th and 19th centuries are buried in this land, although only 100 Friends requested a gravestone or marker. The area is not pesticided or mowed. A natural canopy of trees is allowed to grow over the cemetery.
In the early 19th century, Smithfield meeting struggled with the issue of abolition of slavery. Some Friends, notably Abby Kelly, may have been actively involved with the smuggling of slaves from Southern ports by ship to Providence, RI, then through northern Rhode Island to Worcester and on to Canada. Other, quietist Friends believed in not breaking an earthly government's law.
Smithfield Friends Meeting became a Guerneyite (pastoral) meeting during New England's schism in the early 19th century. The New England schism ended in 1945. Smithfield continues to be a pastoral meeting, although the practice has become less common among New England Friends.
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...
of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, rebuilt in 1881. It is located at 108 Smithfield Road (Route 146A) in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Woonsocket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 41,186 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Woonsocket lies directly south of the Massachusetts border....
(across the street from North Smithfield). The meetinghouse is home to one of the oldest Quaker communities in the region.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
provided a home to many Quaker refugees in the 17th century, and in the early 18th century a group of "Friends" started this congregation. Their original Meeting House, built in 1719, was connected to a chain of Quaker Meeting Houses that were built along Great Road (near Union Village
Union Village
Union Village or "Bank Village" is a village and historic district located in North Smithfield, Rhode Island and Woonsocket, Rhode Island on Rhode Island Route 146A...
and Smithfield Road Historic District
Smithfield Road Historic District
Smithfield Road Historic District is a historic district in North Smithfield, Rhode Island along Smithfield Road or Route 146A. The area is near the Union Village Historic District and contains many Colonial American, Federal and Victorian homes. The road was part of old Great Road, also a...
). It was destroyed by fire in 1881 and replaced by the current structure.
The forested area directly to the north of the meeting house is a natural cemetery. Roughly 300 Friends from the 18th and 19th centuries are buried in this land, although only 100 Friends requested a gravestone or marker. The area is not pesticided or mowed. A natural canopy of trees is allowed to grow over the cemetery.
In the early 19th century, Smithfield meeting struggled with the issue of abolition of slavery. Some Friends, notably Abby Kelly, may have been actively involved with the smuggling of slaves from Southern ports by ship to Providence, RI, then through northern Rhode Island to Worcester and on to Canada. Other, quietist Friends believed in not breaking an earthly government's law.
Smithfield Friends Meeting became a Guerneyite (pastoral) meeting during New England's schism in the early 19th century. The New England schism ended in 1945. Smithfield continues to be a pastoral meeting, although the practice has become less common among New England Friends.