Maryland was home to the first successful settlement of the Society of Friends in the colonies. George Fox, an Englishman, came up with a doctrine of faith in 1652 that he called the Religious Society of Friends, and its first tenet was that everyone can commune with God, and thus there is no need for a Church hierarchy. The movement, derisively called Quakerism, quickly spread, and in 1656 Quaker missionary Elizabeth Harris arrived on Kent Island. She converted people on both shores of Maryland, including the acting governor. Quakers were accepted, and later even invited to the colony by the Lords Baltimore (who essentially were trying the expand their base of supporters) and a Quaker community thrived. Meanwhile, in the other colonies, Quakers were heavily persecuted and even martyred for their beliefs.
Quakerism was a very young religion at this time, and it was still developing its doctrine and practice. There were multiple interpretations of Quakerism, including in Maryland, so a meeting was arranged for all the Friends in Maryland to clear up the confusion. This Meeting, the first general assembly of Quakers in the colonies, was held at West River, Maryland, which is located on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay south of the South River and north of Herring Bay. Thus, West River is called the birthplace of organized Quakerism in the colonies. George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, preached at the Meeting, and in his Journal, he notes that people of “considerable quality in the world’s account” attended the Meeting.
Through archaeology, several Quaker sits have been investigated and the data recovered has formed the basis for a National Register . Excavations conducted by the Lost Towns Project of Quaker home sites include Skipworth’s Addition, the Willson Site, and the Chew Site. These sites were identified as belonging to Quakers through documentary records. The sites all date to the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and were the homesites of first and second generation Quakers who belonged to the West River Meeting.
Willson Site (18AN1188)
Chew Site (18AN1372)