“It troubles me as it is so incorrect.”
– Jo Ann Staples, Chairperson, Committee for the Preservation of the Tuckahoe Neck Quaker Meetinghouse
[A collaboration with the Caroline County Historical Society and the Caroline Digital History Project.]
We read the roadside marker and thought, “This doesn’t look right. Let’s give Jo Ann a call.”
The roadside historic site marker says this:
NECK MEETING HOUSE
NECK OR TUCKAHOE NECK MEETING HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1802 BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS WHO HAD BEEN NICHOLITES, A SECT THAT ORIGINATED IN CAROLINE COUNTY. THE BUILDING USED AS A HOUSE OF WORSHIP AND AS A FRIEND SCHOOL UNTIL 1897. THE THEN RENTED BY ‘DUNKARDS’ FOR RELIGIOUS MEETINGS FOR BLACK PERSONS AND AS A SCHOOL. IT WAS SOLD PRIVATELY IN 1901 AND SINCE 1949 HAS BEEN OWNED BY CHOPTANK ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INC.
MARYLAND STATE HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
Now let’s take a closer look at what the sign says … and what Jo Ann told us.
NECK OR TUCKAHOE NECK MEETING HOUSE WAS BUILT IN 1802
What Jo Ann told us:
Yes, TNQM was built in 1802 and “laid down”, disbanded in 1897.
BY MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS WHO HAD BEEN NICHOLITES, A SECT THAT ORIGINATED IN CAROLINE COUNTY.
What Jo Ann told us:
The Nicholites originated in Kent County, Delaware. After Joseph Nichohols death in 1770, they began to move into Caroline County. The Quakers and the Nicholites shared at least two other meetinghouses, Northwest Fork (Federalsburg) and Centre (Concord) in Caroline County. Beginning in 1797, as many as 400 Nicholites or “New Quakers” joined the Quakers.
THE BUILDING USED AS A HOUSE OF WORSHIP AND AS A FRIEND SCHOOL UNTIL 1897
What Jo Ann told us:
The Quakers had a school from 1856 to 1858 and from 1877 to 1879 (or maybe 1897).
THEN RENTED BY ‘DUNKARDS’ FOR RELIGIOUS MEETINGS FOR BLACK PERSONS AND AS A SCHOOL.
What Jo Ann told us:
The “Dunkards” – the Church of the Brethren – established a church for black citizens at some point in time, and it was a public school one year, 1899 to 1900.
It also served as a barracks for Union Soldiers during the Civil War. It is said the soldiers would leave the building on Sunday so the Quakers could worship.
IT WAS SOLD PRIVATELY IN 1901 AND SINCE 1949 HAS BEEN OWNED BY CHOPTANK ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INC.
What Jo Ann told us:
In 1901, Edward Tylor purchased the building from the Third Haven Meetinghouse in Easton, and it was retained by his heirs until 1949, when it was purchased by the Choptank Electric Cooperative. It stood unused except for one or two homecoming celebrations about 1929 and 1930. There has been no activity in the building since 1930.
Jo Ann added, “I am citing Dr. Kenneth Carroll’s works and the 1920 History of Caroline County.”
Saving the Meetinghouse
The Committee for the Preservation of the Tuckahoe Neck Quaker Meetinghouse is appealing to all citizens of the County to assist in this effort. We have developed a multi-facet plan of fundraising, consisting of writing grant proposals, electronic fundraising, and signature fundraising events.
If you would like to assist in this truly worthwhile effort or would like to have more information, please contact Jo Ann Staples at quakers@carolinehistory.org.
Donate to save the Tuckahoe Neck Quaker Meetinghouse.
It takes just a minute.
Stand in the Place: Where Quakers & Nicholites Stood
Visit Tuckahoe Neck Meetinghouse in 1974 - Virtually
In 1974, Denton resident and land historian Eleanor Horsely prepared and submitted documention for the Tuckahoe Neck Meetinghouse to be listed in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Places. She traced the history of the building, transfers of ownership, and physical condition of the building. Read more.
Northwest Fork Meetinghouse
The original single-story, one-room plan structure was erected in Federalsburg by the Nicolites around 1775-80. Although altered as a bungalow around 1913-15, the former Pine Grove Friends Meetinghouse, originally the Northwest Fork Nicolite Meetinghouse, is the only structure in Dorchester County to survive as a representation of these religious sects that were active within the Eastern Shore counties during the 18th and 19th centuries. [Read more from the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties.]
See all the Quaker Sites
Locate all Quaker sites with the web map here.
Explore Where You Are: Quaker History in Caroline
Historic Black Schools since 1870. Eight are still standing.
Through 90 years of racial segregation and funding disparity, black schools in Caroline County were sacred ground in the fight for literacy, democracy, and civil rights.
Eight are still there.
Stand in the Place.
Passing of CCHS President, JOK Walsh
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Knott’s Mill
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In June 1781, while Washington and Cornwallis were moving their armies toward Yorktown, American Colonel Henry Hollingsworth reported to Maryland Governor Thomas Lee that 600 bushels of State wheat were stored at Seth’s Mill (earlier name of Knott’s Mill).
Chilton’s Mill
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