Uwchlan Meetinghouse

During the winter of 1777–78, it was used as a hospital by the Continental Army at Valley Forge and staffed by Dr. Bodo Otto (1711–1787).^[3] Soldiers slept on the floor on straw and were warmed with the fireplaces. Distant wells provided water, and homemade candles and lanterns provided light. Many who died there were buried behind the meeting house. When the American Civil War came 80 years later, the Friends wanted to support the abolition of slavery and again offered their meeting house as a hospital. The soldiers must have slept in the balcony because on the walls are their scratched names, messages, and regimental numbers.^[2]

After 1900 when many other religious sects came into the area, Uwchlan Friends began to move away or attend other churches. The few families left couldn't maintain the building, so they sold it to the Uwchlan Grange Patrons of Husbandry in 1920. The Grange continued to rent the building as a public school, and Grange members plus local 4H groups held meetings there. Once again dwindling members, this time of the Grange, meant maintenance was an issue, and the building was sold to the Woman's Community Club of Uwchlan in 1963. The understanding was that the Grange could meet there weekly. After the last members died or moved away, the Grange at Lionville was disbanded in 1974. The Women's Club put in running water and a heating system, converted the old east porch into a kitchen, and remodeled the west wing. But when faced with replacing the roof, they decided to sell the building to the newly formed Uwchlan Conservation Trust.^[2] The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.^[1]