Newtown Historical Assn and Newtown Friends Meeting to Celebrate 200th Anniversary of the Quaker Meetinghouse, May 8 at 7:30

Bill Heinemann and Newtown Historic Quaker Meetinghouse

200 Years of Newtown Quakers – Newtown Friends Meeting House, 1817-2017

The Newtown Historic Association and Newtown Friends Meeting will jointly celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Quaker meetinghouse and burial ground on Monday evening May 8th at 7:30 p.m. at the Quaker Meetinghouse, 219 Court St, with an address by Bill Heinemann, a Newtown resident and member of both organizations.

Heinemann’s topic will be “200 Years of Newtown Quakers – Newtown Friends Meeting House, 1817-2017” and include an overview of the Meeting’s history, including pictures and other resources from the Newtown Historical Library.

The talk will cover early Quakerism in the area, and the events that led up to Newtown Meeting’s founding in 1815. His presentation will cover the important role of Edward Hicks, and how Quaker beliefs are reflected in the building’s architecture. He will describe how the Meetinghouse has expanded and adapted to meet the needs of the growing community, along with the nearby Quaker schools and retirement communities.

Bill has been a resident of Newtown Borough for 24 years, and a member of Newtown Meeting for nearly that whole time. He is Vice President of Engineering at Syncro Medical, a software development company specializing in medical instruments and systems. He serves on the Board of the Arch Street Meeting House Preservation Trust, which is dedicated to maintaining and promoting Philadelphia’s largest Quaker meetinghouse, located in Old City. He is also a former Trustee of Mercer Street Friends, a Quaker-based social services agency in Trenton NJ.

The talk will be followed by refreshments and a chance to see the Meeting’s outstanding collection of Edward Hicks reproductions of “The Peaceable Kingdom,” “The Signing of the Declaration of Independence,” and replicas of paintings of other historical events and local farmscapes, many through the courtesy of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, Colonial Williamsburg, VA.

Limited parking is available on the meetinghouse property, and more can be found at the adjacent Stockburger lot -- please park toward the Court St entrance. For questions or more information, please call 215-968-3914.