[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23503]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  250TH ANNIVERSARY OF FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE AND CEMETERY ASSOCIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 29, 2008

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 
250th anniversary celebration of the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery 
Association of the Township of Randolph, County of Morris, NJ.
  On October 11, 2008, the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery 
Association of the Township of Randolph will celebrate the 250th 
anniversary of the Friends Meeting House. The Meeting House is the 
oldest church in continuous use in Morris County and the oldest Quaker 
Meeting House in northern New Jersey.
  In 1758, The Mendham Friends Meeting House and Cemetery was 
established by the Quakers, who migrated to the Mendham area of Morris 
County. The name was later changed to the Randolph Friends Meeting 
House, and the building was used for regular worship until 1865, when 
it was ``laid down.'' From 1865-1898, the Meeting House was used only 
for memorial services and the occasional wedding or funeral, while the 
grounds and cemetery were kept by descendants of the original Quaker 
families.
  In 1898, the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery Association of 
Randolph Township was formed to oversee the preservation of the Meeting 
House site. Membership was open to anyone whose ancestors had 
worshipped in the meeting house or was buried in the cemetery as well 
as to members of the Friends faith who had an interest in preservation 
of this important place.
  In 1998, the Meeting House celebrated the 100th anniversary of the 
founding of the association in its current form. In 2007, Friends 
Meeting House and Cemetery Association was awarded a grant from the 
Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund. This grant will enable 
the association to fully renovate and preserve the Meeting House 
building, which has changed little since the 18th century.
  Madam Speaker, I urge you and my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating Friends Meeting House and Cemetery Association of the 
Township of Randolph on the celebration of this special anniversary.

                          ____________________