The Woodbury Friends' Meetinghouse

At the age of 80, Henry Wood founded the town of Woodbury in 1683 (although Native Americans had already been there for quite some time) after enduring religious persecution in England for practicing as a Quaker. The Woodbury Friends' Meetinghouse (circa 1715) stands as a reminder of the Quakers' significant influence in the area during its colonial history. Several prominent Woodbury-area Quakers met in the hall, including the Whitall family, whose house and property played a significant role during the Revolutionary War. As well, the British used The Meeting House as a barracks and hospital during the war. 

The Woodbury village began as a small farming community, which persisted throughout the colonial era. The availability of quality farmland proved attractive to Quakers. So, although not a large urban area, it grew into a vibrant Quaker community. They built the meetinghouse in 1715 to serve as a place of worship and as a community center. The Meeting House is an exemplary partitioned meeting house (the town duplicated the 1715 design with an addition to the meetinghouse in 1785). Its plain interior speaks to Quaker's simplicity with its unfinished cedar trim and benches. 

British General Lord Cornwallis, who famously surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown, maintained his headquarters in Woodbury during his advance to capture Philadelphia in 1777. The British used The Meeting House as a barracks and hospital following the Battle of Red Bank in 1777. After the war, Quakers remained significant, but their hold on the town declined steadily. 

Woodbury became the seat of Gloucester County in 1786. Thirty years later, in stark contrast to its pure Quaker roots, the village contained four taverns. By then (1815), the town supported seventy houses occupied by a diversified workforce consisting of farmers, Blacksmiths, merchants, lawyers, and physicians. Railways initially struggled to stay afloat in the area, but in 1854 the West Jersey Railroad restored rail service, and Woodbury evolved into an important trading and manufacturing center. Also, in 1854, Woodbury transitioned from a village to its formal designation as a borough. And then, in 1871, Woodbury matured into the City of Woodbury as its population soared into the thousands. Woodbury looked much different by the early 1900s as the factories dotted the landscape and urbanization had taken root. 

Still, the meetinghouse survived. In fact, even as the town changed dramatically during the nineteenth century, the meetinghouse supported two factions of Quakers. As of 2021, meetings are still held in the historic meetinghouse. Still, by the 1870s (and certainly in 2021) the city looked much different than the one Henry Wood founded in 1683. The Woodbury Meetinghouse stands today as a reminder of Woodbury's s humble beginnings as a small farming community occupied by Quakers who fled England to worship freely. The house also stands as a monument to the Revolutionary War -- a newly formed nation's attempt to be free from England. 

Bassett, William B. "Nomination Form: Woodbury Friends' Meetinghouse." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. February 6, 1973. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/90c67a6c-1806-435f-a9d8-39cb9d55a044.

"Henry Wood and Brookhouse Farm." The Village Green Preservation Society. preservewoodbury.blogspot.com. July 30, 2012. http://preservewoodbury.blogspot.com/2012/07/henry-wood-and-brookhouse-farm.html.

"History of Woodbury." City of Woodbury. nj.us. Accessed January 21, 2021. http://woodbury.nj.us/history/history-of-woodbury.

Murphy, Arthur. "Woodbury, New Jersey." Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. philadelphiaencyclopedia.org. Initially published by Rutgers University, 2017. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/woodbury-new-jersey/.