Smith Clove Meetinghouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Smith Clove Meetinghouse
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Front (south) elevation in 2007
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| Location | Highland Mills, New York |
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| Nearest city | Newburgh |
| Area | 2 acres (8,100 m2) |
| Built | 1803 |
| NRHP reference No. | 74001290 |
| Added to NRHP | 1974 |
The Smith Clove Meeting House is a special building where Quakers gather to worship. It is located in Highland Mills, New York, close to NY 32 on Smith Clove Road. This meeting house is the oldest religious building in the area of Woodbury. It was built over 200 years ago, at the start of the 1800s.
Even today, Quakers from nearby Cornwall still use the Smith Clove Meeting House. They hold special gatherings there at least once a year. The building was updated in the mid-1800s, but it still looks much like it did when it was first built. In 1974, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, which means it's an important historical site.
Contents
What the Meeting House Looks Like
The Smith Clove Meeting House sits on a two-acre piece of land. The land gently slopes uphill towards the west. There are many open spaces with large trees that provide shade for the building. A small burial ground, where early members of the Quaker community were laid to rest, is located just north of the meeting house.
Building Materials and Design
This building is one-and-a-half stories tall. It is made of wood with a type of siding called clapboard. The house rests on a strong foundation made of fieldstone. The roof is pointed, or gabled, and covered with wood shingles. A chimney sticks up from the center of the roof.
Entrances and Interior
A porch runs along the entire front of the building, which faces south. There are two entrances, one at each end of the porch, with a window next to each door. This design was common for Quakers back then, as men and women often entered and sat separately during their meetings. There are also two other windows, one on the east side and one on the west side. A small outdoor toilet, called a privy, is attached to the back of the building.
Inside, the meeting room is simple and plain. It has a removable wooden wall that can divide the room. The walls are painted plaster, and the floor is made of wide wooden planks. The furniture includes simple wooden benches and two wood-burning stoves to keep the room warm.
History of the Smith Clove Meeting
The Smith Clove Quaker community started in 1790. It was a smaller group connected to the larger Cornwall meeting, which was a few miles north. At first, they met in a member's home. After about ten years, they decided they needed their own meeting house.
Building the Meeting House
The land for the current meeting house was bought in 1801. It is believed that the Quaker members built the house themselves. It was finished and ready for use by 1803. The name "Smith Clove" comes from William Smith, who originally owned the land. "Clove" comes from the Dutch word kloof, which means a steep, narrow valley. Highland Mills is located in such a valley, between Schunemunk Mountain and the Hudson Highlands.
Before the American Revolution, some Quaker meetings had their land taken away. To prevent this from happening, several families from the Smith Clove meeting held the legal ownership of the land themselves, instead of the meeting owning it directly.
Changes Over Time
In the mid-1800s, the meeting house was updated. Most of the original building and its interior were kept. The wooden siding on the outside looks like the wide planks used in other Quaker meeting houses around 1800, but it might have been replaced during this renovation. By 1886, the risk of losing their land was gone. So, the ownership of the land was officially given to the meeting itself.
Over time, the number of Quakers attending the Highland Mills meeting became very small. Eventually, the group joined back with the Cornwall meeting. However, the Cornwall Quakers still use the historic Smith Clove Meeting House for one meeting each year, keeping its long tradition alive.
