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Saturday, August 3, 1996

Burlington Meeting House

The first Burlington Meeting House - a hexagonal wooden structure - was built in 1683, and served for 100 years, even being seized during the Revolutionary War and used as a barracks.

Standing at 340 High Street, the present Burlington Meeting House was constructed in the mid-1780's by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) to replace the original smaller structure. In 1994 and 1995, major renovations and additions converted the Meeting House into a conference center, which opened in August of 1995 with facilities for day use by groups up to 200, and accomodations for 88.

The Meeting House now hosts weekend gatherings of high-school-aged Young Friends from around the greater Philadelphia region, as well as other groups. Significant portions of the original meeting room were preserved as part of the renovations, and continue to be used for meetings and seminars.

The Quaker burial ground behind the Meeting House holds the graves of several prominent Friends, including Dr. Joseph Taylor, founder of Bryn Mawr College, printer Isaac Collins, and missionary Stephen Grellet. Also buried here is Chief Ockanickon of the Mantas tribe of the Lenape.

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