The adult class of Newtown Quaker Meeting will hear a talk on Meeting the Future by Preserving the Pastregarding activities at the historic Philadelphia Arch Street Meetinghouse from Executive Director Sean Connolly at 9:45 a.m. on First Day (Sunday), November 10, 2024.
Sean will discuss the history of Arch Street Meeting House, a National Historic Landmark in Old City Philadelphia. Today, the meetinghouse serves as a museum and active place of worship. Sean’s talk will discuss how the museum explores Pennsylvania’s Quaker history, attracting tens of thousands of people to the historic site each year to learn about Quaker’s past and present.
Sean will also discuss the important work of preserving the meetinghouse and its history and its involvement in the plans for celebrating the Semiquincentennial of the United States in 2026.
Arch Street Meeting House at Fourth and Arch Streets in Old City is one of the largest Quaker Meetinghouses in the world. It hostedover 52,000 visits in 2023 from school students and tourists and has been central to Quakerism and key events in American history for over 200 years.
Pennsylvania founder and Quaker William Penn deeded land to the Society of Friends in 1701 to be used as a burial ground, though burials had been taking place there since 1683. Among those buried there is James Logan (1674–1751), secretary to William Penn.
Another buried there is Samuel Nicholas (1744–1790), founde and first commandant of the United States Marine Corps. Each November 10, Marines mark his grave with a wreath at dawn, though the Honor Guard leaves its traditional rifles at home out of respect for the Quakers.
The Arch Street Meetinghouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2011.
Sean Connolly’s previous work experience includes overseeing the Education Department at Pennsbury Manor, Assistant Director of Historic Philadelphia Inc.’s Once Upon A Nation program, and Executive Director of the Manayunk Theatre Company. He has also taught Public History at Drexel University.
Sean has a MA in Theatre and Non-Profit Management from Villanova University and a BA in History from York College of Pennsylvania. He lives in the East Falls section of Philadelphia with his wife Meredith and dog Aurora.
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