National Register of Historic Places

Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery

Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island
Listed
March 7, 1973
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
73000053

About this property

The Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse, Parsonage, and Cemetery (also known as Portsmouth Friends Meeting House or Portsmouth Evangelical Friends Church) is a historic Friends meeting house and cemetery of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), at 11 Middle Road and 2232 E. Main Road in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. In 1638, exiled religious dissidents from the Massachusetts Bay Colony founded Portsmouth, the second oldest colonial community in Rhode Island. The Quaker community developed shortly after the community was founded. The current meetinghouse was built around 1699–1700. The building was used as a Quaker house of worship and school. During the American Revolutionary War, British troops occupied the building. In 1784 the Moses Brown School was founded at the church. The meeting house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. The meetinghouse was listed for sale after the Friends' Church regional headquarters closed the church in 2017 in response to dwindling membership. In 2020, the local congregation regained legal control of the meetinghouse and re-opened it for services after renovations.

Location

11 Middle Rd. and 2232 E. Main Rd.
Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island
41.51438, -71.37458

Categories

MILITARYEDUCATIONPOLITICS/GOVERNMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Native Heritage
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Nearby Historic Sites

Friends Meetinghouse
Early Republic
0 mi
Jamestown Windmill
Industrial
0.2 mi
Windmill Hill Historic District
Listed
0.4 mi
Shoreby Hill Historic District
Listed
0.9 mi
Artillery Park
Listed
1.2 mi

Nearby Battles

British Occupation of Newport
1776Revolutionary War
3.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery listed on the National Register?

Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 7, 1973.

What type of historic resource is Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery?

Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery?

The period of significance for Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Portsmouth Friends Meetinghouse Parsonage and Cemetery?

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