Chester Friends Meetinghouse is a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

meeting house at 520 East 24th Street in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

, Delaware County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The first recorded meeting of Friends in the province of Pennsylvania was in Chester at the house of Robert Wade in 1675.

William Edmundson William Edmundson or Edmondson (1627—1712) was the founder of Quakerism in Ireland. Early life Edmundson was born in Little Musgrave, Westmorland, England in 1627. His parents died when he was young, and so he was raised by an uncle. He was a ...

, the founder of Quakerism in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

was present at the first meeting. In 1682, the Chester Friends agreed to hold their meeting at the Chester Court House, also known at the time as the House of Defense. On January 7, 1687, a lot was purchased on the west side of present-day Edgemont Avenue and construction began on the meetinghouse. The first Chester Friends Meetinghouse was completed in 1693.

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

was known to speak at the original Chester Friends meetinghouse. In 1735, after forty-three years of worship at the original building, a larger meetinghouse was built on the same property. The existing buildings have 1829 and 1954 represented on them indicating the date of construction of the current buildings. The Chester Friends meetinghouse is an active worship center.

Notable burials

John Chew Thomas John Chew Thomas (October 15, 1764 – May 10, 1836) was an American politician who served as a Federalist member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland's 2nd congressional district from 1799 to 1801. He also served as a member o ...

(1764-1836) - U.S. Congressman from Maryland

References

{{coord, 39.869409, -75.363818, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title 1675 establishments in Pennsylvania 19th-century Quaker meeting houses Cemeteries in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Chester, Pennsylvania Churches completed in 1829 Churches in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Quaker meeting houses in Pennsylvania