Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 05/20/1975
NRHP Listing Date 08/28/1975
NRHP Reference Number 75002113
Quakers settled in the area of present-day Lynchburg in the mid-18th century and built their first meetinghouse in 1757. The present meetinghouse, completed in 1798, is the third on the site. Originally known as the South River Friends Meeting House, the building was typical of the sturdy, plain structures favored by the Quakers, constructed of local fieldstone with an almost domestic appearance. It lost most of its congregation to westward migration in the 1830s. The South River Quaker Meeting House stood as an abandoned ruin from the 1850s until 1904 when its stone walls were restored and it was re-roofed for use by the Presbyterians. Buried in the adjacent Quaker cemetery (“God’s Acre”) are John Lynch, Lynchburg’s founder, and his mother, Sarah Clark Lynch, one of the original Quaker settlers. The building is currently maintained by the Quaker Memorial Presbyterian Church.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: January 25, 2022
