Area Quakers will hold services at historic Smith Clove Meeting House

HIGHLAND MILLS — For 51 weeks a year, the Cornwall monthly meeting of the Society of Friends convenes its Sunday worship at its 1790 Meetinghouse on Quaker Avenue in Cornwall.
But once a year, the Quakers travel down Route 32 to hold worship at the beautiful meeting house on Quaker Avenue in Highland Mills called “Smith Clove.”
This year, Smith Clove Meetinghouse will be open for viewing and for worship on Sunday, Aug. 26. All are invited to visit the building and to take part in the silent worship that is a hallmark of Quaker practice.
The building will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the worship will be held from 11 a.m. to noon.
The Smith Clove Meetinghouse was constructed on 1802 and has been unchanged since that time. It is the oldest religious building in the town and village of Woodbury, dating to the beginning of the 19th century.
Its design still reflects its era of Quaker practice. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
No alterations whatsoever have taken place since the mid-1800s, making the building of special interest. The two simple rooms are divided by a sliding wall for men’s and women’s business meetings. Each room is heated by a wood stove.
In 1884, Hannah Cocks noted in her diary that “a dwindling Quaker membership had resulted in a combined (Business) Meeting, with men and women on the same side.”
There is no plumbing, electricity or other improvements that would disturb this structure, and a visitor gets a glimpse of what life was like in the Hudson Valley 200 years ago.
Those seeking more information are urged to contact Elizabeth Pozo at info@cornwallquakers.org or by phone at 845-534-7474.