The Beginnings

Many of the early settlers of Hamilton County were members of the Society of Friends.  Most Friends meetings were located in rural areas and there was no meeting in Noblesville until the winter of 1891 and 1892.

For many years prior to that winter a few Quaker families resided in the city.  Most of them were descendants of the early settlers of the county.  As the town of Noblesville grew the members of Friends increased.  Because there was no Friends meeting in Noblesville, many of these Friends attended other churches and retained their memberships with their home meetings.

Noblesville Friends Gather

When James S. Hollowell and his family moved to Noblesville he consulted Joseph A. Roberts about the possibility of organizing a Friends meeting.  Through the efforts and interests of these two men, Friends began holding meetings for worship in different homes as early as May, 1890.  Some of the ministers from Westfield and Carmel and other county meetings would be present to conduct these meetings.

During the summer of 1890, Amos Sanders, a minister belonging to a meeting in the southern part of the state but residing in Westfield, became interested in the growing number of Noblesville Friends.  He began to hold cottage meetings every Sabbath.

A Place for Worship and Meeting

On the 3rd day of August 1890, members living in the city were solicited to donate funds to rent and fix up a hall to hold meeting.  After the money was raised, a hall situated on the second floor of a building in Fishers was rented.  The first meeting in the hall was held Sunday, August 24, 1890, and meetings were held there regularly until February 28, 1892 when the building was sold.  Meetings were then moved to the office of the County Superintendent of Schools on the third floor of the Courthouse.  Services continued there until the meetinghouse was built.

A Dream Realized

James Hollowell and Joseph Roberts, with a great deal of foresight, purchased a lot fronting Division Street for the Friends Meetinghouse.  It was there that the brick building was constructed at a cost of $ 3,500, and dedicated on October 23, 1892.