Quakers arrived with a strong belief in the value of education but also disposed against the class-based and gender-based educational system of England. In southern New Jersey, Quakers opened up several schools in the 18th century and made them open to Friends and non-Friends alike, rich and poor, boys and girls. Beyond the Lenape, however, few non-Quakers lived in the region at the time. As early as 1720, the first of these schools opened in Mullica Hill in a simple log cabin. In 1756, Quakers erected a new school building thanks to the generosity of a local Friend. In 1797, Mullica Hill Monthly Meeting was formally established. Schooling continued under the care of local Quakers, but it ebbed and flowed in the region until 1883, when Mullica Hill Meeting discontinued its direct sponsorship of a separate school.
This historical entry is part of a series chronicling the history of Friends School Mullica Hill on the occasion of the School’s 50th anniversary. The entries begin with the first arrival of Quakers in the region and continue all the way to the present under the leadership of the School’s ninth Head, Matt Bradley.
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