New Garden’s Early Days
Quakers first began gathering here for worship in 1751. They came from miles around, on foot and on horseback, and worshiped in the forest, seated on fallen logs. Their numbers grew, and in 1754 these Quakers organized themselves to become New Garden Friends Monthly Meeting, borrowing the name from a well-established congregation in Pennsylvania.
Throughout the 18th century, Quakers continued to stream into Piedmont North Carolina from Nantucket, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, as well as other parts of North Carolina. Many settled in Guilford County, strengthening the growing New Garden community.
Revolutionary War
When British troops led by Lord Cornwallis clashed with Patriot farmer-soldiers around Guilford Courthouse in 1781, pacifist Quakers nursed the wounded and buried the dead from both sides. An estimated 125 to 150 of the fallen are buried together in New Garden Cemetery, adjacent to the meetinghouse.
Quakers long have been known as proponents as education. New Garden Boarding School in was chartered in 1834 and opened in 1837. With 25 boys and 25 girls, it was the first co-educational school in the South. The school survived the Civil War to become Guilford College in 1888. Today’s students still find that the values of the Religious Society of Friends create a unique culture at Guilford College.
Present Day
Several buildings have served New Garden Friends Meeting. Friends met in to worship in New Garden Hall, on the Guilford Campus, through the first half of the 20th century. The current meetinghouse was built in the late 1950s. The design of the large, airy Meeting Room, added in 1988, incorporates influences from historic Friends meetinghouses in Pennsylvania and the Northeast.
From 1751 to the present day, Friends have sought – and found – worshipful experiences that “spoke to their condition” at New Garden Friends Meeting.
Come and see.