Why is this building significant?
The Old Quaker Meeting House, as it is widely known, is reputedly the oldest house of worship in New York State and the second oldest Quaker meeting house in the country. The aesthetically simple building is constructed on a frame consisting of 40-foot hand-hewn timbers, each created from a single tree. The steeply pitched hipped roof is reminiscent of medieval Dutch structures and recalls New York’s origins as New Amsterdam and surrounding villages such as Flushing. In 1645 members of the Quaker congregation issued the Flushing Remonstrance, today acknowledged as a precursor to the Bill of Right’s protection of freedom of religion.
What did the New York Landmarks Conservancy do?
We supplied $32,000 in grants to design a new cedar-shingle roof, stabilize the roof structure, and restore the entrance porch. We helped secure $700,000 in New York City and New York State funding to install the new roof, and we provided a $50,000 loan and $10,000 grant for a fire alarm and sprinkler system to protect this irreplaceable wooden structure.
Contemporary
Historic
