By Nate Wiggin
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CATAWISSA FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE History Under Your Nose
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Diener wrote that the “first official meeting
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Located right in the town of Catawissa (officially a borough) stands a structure that seems so out of place that it must be a recreation, replica, or prop of some sort. The small log structure stands along South Street atop a knoll under some very large trees. Adjacent to the structure is an obviously very old ceme- tery surrounded by a stone wall. The structure I am referring to is known as the CATAWISSA FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, and it was a meeting place and house of worship for some of the earliest Quaker settlers in this area. I recently had the opportunity to attend a history talk, tour, and walk of the old structure and the surrounding property. Led by Catawissa Celebrates 250 Committee member and historian Gary Roberts, I learned a lot about the origins and history of Catawissa, the original Quaker settlers and their Meeting House, and the cemetery. I took notes on the day of my visit, and did some follow up research while putting this article together. Let me tell you folks, what I thought would be a cut and dry subject has given me a headache as I try to sort out all the differing opinions, dates, and facts of the old structure. Let’s start with the origins of the Meeting House. The historical marker that stands on the edge of the property states that it was built around 1775. My research led me to all sorts of differing accounts of the construction date as some local his- torians put the date as 1789, or sometime before the American Revolution, or even as late as 1795. Trying to sift through all that to get a true answer is the part that gave me the headache. I did not come up with a definitive answer, so let’s just suffice it to say that the structure is over 200 years old. Historian Terry
was on April 23, 1796, of which Isaac Wiggins was the clerk”.[2] According to historian Gary Roberts, it is the oldest building in Columbia County, and the cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Columbia County. “The Meeting House is all original except for the roof and one log that had to be replaced. A company that does historically accurate repairs or replacements did the work to replace the log. Most of the windowpanes are original”, Gary Roberts relayed to us. Gary also mentioned that the building is 40’ long by 38’ wide. It is of simple construction having been built by a crew of 6 men. “A Gathering Place for Frontier Friends” The Meeting House stopped being used on a regular basis some- time in the early to mid 1800s. It fell into a state of disrepair and neglect over the years. Then around 1900, or 1890 depending on which account you read, a woman named Emma Walter came to the rescue of this important building. Emma was residing near Philly when she heard about the state of the old Meeting House. She then moved to Catawissa to look after the structure. According to Gary Roberts, Emma felt it was her “mission in life” to take care of the Meeting House. For over thirty years she did just that. The first thing she did was get a new roof put on.
COLUMBIA MONTOUR Quarterly
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