Quaker settlement and the Western Yearly Meeting House in Plainfield, Indiana

The Quakers had a surprising (to me at least) presence and influence in Indiana over the years, which I learned about after spotting the historical marker for this Quaker meeting house in Plainfield.

Plainfield can trace its origins to the westward migration of Quakers (or Friends) from eastern and southern states during the early 1800s.

Quaker concern for social justice issues like equality for all brought the Friends to the Territory of Indiana. Baltimore-based Friends listened as President Thomas Jefferson met with members of the Miami and Potawatomi tribes to discuss their concerns with appropriation of their lands as a result of western migration in 1802. The Quakers protested the United States' unjust treatment of the Indians and headed to Indiana to set up demonstration farms and share their knowledge of best farming techniques with the tribes.

More Quakers migrated west after the War of 1812 because they opposed slavery in the south and because of the availability of affordable land in the west.

Many counties in central Indiana like Hendricks County saw Quaker meetings established during the 1820s.

Some of area's first settlers were Quakers who helped establish Plainfield in 1839, naming the town to reflect their "plain" dress and speech.

Quakers established the Indiana Yearly Meeting in 1821. In 1835, as more Quakers moved westward, they established the Western Yearly Meeting to serve Friends in western Indiana and eastern Illinois.

In 1858, the Quakers built this plain brick meeting house along what is now The National Road (or U.S. 40).

Plainfield became home to the Western Yearly Meeting and six hundred Friends reportedly showed up to the first session.

Many of the Friends migrating to Indiana had little or no formal education, but they felt they had a duty to provide a good education for their children. Quaker schools taught students to read, write and cipher.

Friends in Indiana also operated as many as a dozen secondary schools through the nineteenth century like the Central Academy referred to on this historical marker near the Western Yearly Meeting house. The Central Academy operated from 1881-1919 as a high school to prepare children heading to the nearby Quaker-run Earlham College.

Plainfield honors the Quakers' historic concern for education with Plainfield's high school mascot, the Quaker.

You see some of the features of traditional Quaker meeting house design in the Western Yearly Meeting building. Traditional Quaker meeting houses are long rectangular buildings, with one of the long sides serving as the front of the building. There were generally two front entrances with the one on the right serving as an entrance for men and young boys. Women, young children and girls entered the door on the left side.

Friends meet more frequently in their local areas. Yearly Meetings are week-long gatherings drawing members from a wider geographic area and include worship, business meetings, religious contemplation, determining guiding principles for the group, reporting on Friends community efforts and work on social justice issues, and social activities.

The Western Yearly Meeting split over the issue of slavery and the influence of former Methodists who joined the Friends and introduced changes like formal services with hired preachers, hymns and revival meetings that conflicted with traditional Quaker practices.

Some more conservative Quakers did not agree with members who willingly assisted fugitive slaves traveling the Underground Railroad through the area or who joined anti-slavery organizations not related to the Friends, even as most Quakers opposed slavery in principle.  

In 1877, some members established the Western Meeting of (Conservative) Friends. The group disbanded, or was "laid down" in 1962.

The prevalence of Quaker influence in Plainfield faded during the late 1800s as the National Road brought more non-Quaker settlers to the area, but the Western Yearly Meeting house still serves Friends in the area as a place of worship and as an annual meeting place.

Want to learn more about Plainfield? Check out Plainfield (Images of America) by Reann Lydick Poray.

Thanks to the Hendricks County Convention and Visitors Bureau for sponsoring my visit to Hendricks County, providing lodging, meals and a tour of Hendricks County attractions for my review during my recent visit there, with no further compensation. I was free to express my own opinions about the stay and experiences, and the opinions expressed here are mine.

© Dominique King 2013 All rights reserved

Comments

[Lin]

Thank you for your research. My husbands, 3rd grt. grandfather, James Madison Gregg b.June 26, 1806 in Patrick Co., Va, (the son of John A. Grigg, a Judge in Grayson Co., Va,) was a Quaker
James had a small diary in which he stated:
"May 9, 1830 went to quaker meeting." This is repeated on numerous dates, in the diary. He was living in Hendricks Co.,Ind at this time.
James was a county clerk, lawyer and politician, in Danville, Hendricks Co.,Indiana.

[Dominique King]

Thanks for checking in, Lin.
I'm always fascinated when readers tell me a little of the "rest of the story" behind the articles I post here. I was surprised to find that the Quakers were such a strong presence in Hendricks County, but I enjoyed learning about that when I researched this article after seeing the historical marker.
Glad if I could help you with learning about your family's story in any way :)

[Charlotte Drayer]

As a Purdue mechanical engineering student at the turn of the previous century, my grandfather, Henry Hoyt Gilbert, wrote an essay about the Plainfield Quaker plot to "encourage" President Van Buren to apportion funds to repair the National Road through Plainfield. He and my grandmother, Lucille Macy Gilbert,(fourth cousins) were descended from the plotters. I was looking for confirmation of the facts in the essay when I came upon your blog.

The story he didn't write also involved the National Road. His ancestors, as kids, drove the (empty) manure wagon from town to the homestead at Six Points Road, and practiced lassoing the surveyors stakes, pulling them onto the wagon as they went along. When they got home, their dad said, "We're going to have a bonfire."

Thank you for the book reference. We have ordered it to learn more about Plainfield. We have always said that the best farming decision our family has ever made was homesteading north of the Indianapolis Airport!

[Dominique King]

Charlotte-
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story! The National Road is another route we'd like to dedicate a trip to exploring at some point. I can see why your family's decision on a farming location was especially fortuitous!