Honey Creek Friends' Meetinghouse is a historic building located in

New Providence, Iowa New Providence is a small city in Hardin County, Iowa, United States. The population was 236 at the time of the 2020 census. History New Providence was laid out in 1855. New Providence was struck by a tornado in 1860 and much of its business d ...

, United States. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980.

History

The

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

, who were originally from

Yadkin County, North Carolina Yadkin County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 37,214 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its county seat is Yadkinville, North Carolina, Yadkinville. Yadkin County i ...

, organized the Honey Creek Monthly Meeting in 1852. They were a party of 44 composed of members of the Reece family ranging in ages from 8 weeks to over 70 years. It took two months for the party to reach their destination of

Salem, Iowa Salem is a city in Henry County, Iowa, Henry County, Iowa, United States. The population was 394 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Salem was settled originally by Quakers with the intent that it be a community of ...

. They moved on from there to establish the church in New Providence, Iowa. Not one railroad was crossed during the trek. Their first meeting house was a log structure that was built in 1854 and was replaced in 1859 after it had been destroyed by a fire. Various additions were made to the building and served the community until 1916 when they constructed this building. The meetinghouse was constructed by Ernie Moon, a local builder, and church members. Services are no longer held in the building ''(Reopened February 20, 2022, for weekly 'Unprogrammed' gatherings)'', which is now owned by the Honey Creek Preservation Group. They maintain the building, sponsor events and maintain records and other information from the church.

Architecture

The meetinghouse is constructed of clay tiles with a brick veneer on the exterior. The building's main

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

is oriented on a north-south axis, with a smaller front gable that sits asymmetrically on the east side. It contains the main entrance into the building. Behind the entrance is a short square

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell to ...

with a

crenellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

and pairs of elliptical arched openings on each side of the bell chamber. There is a secondary entrance on the north side of the building. Large segmental arched windows light the interior on the north, south and east sides of the building. All of the other window openings on the building are rectilinear. The main entrance consists of two paneled doors. They open into a vestibule and stair hall, as the meeting room sits a few steps above the entrance. The meeting room occupies most of the main level of the building.

References

{{NRHP in Hardin County, Iowa Religious organizations established in 1852 Churches completed in 1916 20th-century Quaker meeting houses Bungalow architecture in Iowa American Craftsman architecture in Iowa Churches in Hardin County, Iowa Quaker meeting houses in Iowa Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa 1852 establishments in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Hardin County, Iowa