History of the Site

History

The Randolph Meeting House served as the center of religious and social life for Menham/Randolph Quaker community for over a century. The members of this community played important roles in industrialization, anti-slavery activity, the development of local government, efforts to promote equality for women, and the provision of social services and educational opportunities. When the Meeting was laid down (ended) in 1865, care of the site was informally taken over by descendants of the early Quakers and others buried in the Cemetery until it was purchased by the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery Association in 1898. It has since been maintained as a historic property open to visitors and groups interested in meeting at the site.

Date	Event
1730s and 1740s	Quaker families, members of the Religious Society of Friends, begin to settle in the northern part of Mendham Township, Province of New Jersey, some of them on land owned by the Quakers William Penn and Joseph Kirkbride. They are the first people of European descent to settle in this part of Morris County. Most of these early Quakers are farmers, but some, such as the Schooley family, are involved in the iron mining business as owners or operators of forges in the area.
1740	On March 15, the Mendham Quakers apply to Woodbridge Monthly Meeting, Society of Friends, for permission to hold a meeting of Friends once every three months at the home of William Schooley. Their request is granted. The members of the Society of Friends in Mendham and the surrounding area begin to organize for worship on a regular basis.
1746	The Society of Friends members who gather for worship at the home of William Schooley increase in number and request permission to hold meetings once a week. Woodbridge Monthly Meeting grants permission to hold weekly meetings.
1756	With their numbers increasing and the group of Friends flourishing, Mendham Preparative Meeting , Religious Society of Friends is established (hereafter Mendham Meeting). Mendham Meeting will be part of Woodbridge (later Rahway-Plainfield) Monthly Meeting and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. (The name of the meeting will change to Randolph Meeting after Randolph Township is set off from Mendham.) As numbers increase and Mendham Meeting prospers, members begin to consider constructing a meetinghouse.
1758	On April 19, Mendham Meeting requests permission of Woodbridge Monthly Meeting to purchase property on which to construct a meetinghouse and as a place to bury their dead. Permission is granted, and a committee is established to draw up plans. Hartshorn FitzRandolph, Robert Schooley, and Jacob Laing of Mendham Meeting are on the committee along with John Vail, Samuel Marsh and Abraham Shotwell of Woodbridge.The decision is made to construct a wood frame meetinghouse "twenty six foot wide and twenty five foot long, and that it should cost 23 [pounds] or sumthing over.
	...additional dates will be added in the near future, check back the end of May