Category Archives: Springfield History

Martha Sleeper Jay was the wife of Allen Jay. They lived at Springfield for 8 years, from 1868 to 1876, when Allen Jay was the field agent for the Baltimore Association. Although her role here is less well known, she … Continue reading →

Allen Jay was a Quaker minister, educator, relief worker, evangelist and administrator. He worked here at Springfield Friends for 8 years after the Civil War, helping to rebuild the Quaker communities of the South. He encouraged Quakers to revitalize our … Continue reading →

In 1937, the school board decided that the Allen Jay School needed a gym. It was during the Great Depression, and the County Commission said that no funds were available. So, the school board proposed that parents, students and community … Continue reading →

Ray Hayworth spent 15 years in the major leagues, most of them with the Detroit Tigers. He also played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants, and the St. Louis Browns. A catcher, Ray played in the 1934 and … Continue reading →

Nathan Hunt was one of the best-known Quakers in North Carolina in the early 1800’s. A pioneer, a traveling minister, an educator, he was one of the earliest members of Springfield Friends Meeting. Nathan Hunt’s family emigrated to New Jersey … Continue reading →

Two of the first members of Springfield when it was started in the 1700’s were Philip and Mary Hoggatt. Philip was born in England in 1687 and emigrated to Pennsylvania. Mary Hoggatt was born in Scotland in 1698, and hers … Continue reading →

By the mid-1960s, Springfield Friends Meeting was bulging at the seams. The Baby Boom was in full swing, and under the pastoral leadership of Max Rees, attendance at worship was regularly topping 200 people. Facilities for meals were inadequate, and … Continue reading →

Springfield worships today in the “new” meetinghouse, which was finished in 1927. We’ve been meeting here now for 96 years! This is actually the fourth meetinghouse to serve as home to Springfield Friends. The first two were log cabin-type buildings … Continue reading →

On Sunday, February 22, 1942, 81 years ago, our meetinghouse was almost destroyed by fire. At 9:30 a.m., shortly before Sunday School was to start, Susan Millikan arrived and discovered “a tiny red flame licking its tongue hungrily under the … Continue reading →

Hidden in a dark corner of the Museum of Old Domestic Life for many years was a large greenish rock which was brought here from the Allen U. Tomlinson farm. The rock has an arrow roughly gouged into one side. … Continue reading →