08/13/2026
One of our latest fun projects has been the Smith Clove Friends Meeting House located a few miles south of Cornwall. Up until its construction in 1801, many Quakers would use the private homes of its members for their meetings. It became apparent that a need for a new place of worship was to be built.
It is considered to be the oldest religious building in the town and village of Woodbury, NY. It’s been maintained as a historic site since 1961.
The interior has been miraculously maintained in its original state. It still has no electricity or running water! To accommodate separate business meetings the building was divided for men and women, a relatively progressive stance for the time period when women weren’t often considered in religious matters. When individual business concluded a heavy paneled wall was folded down to open up the entire space for open discussion between genders.
It still operates today as a public meeting house only once a year, usually the last Sunday of August.
The meeting house utilizes a traditional post-and-beam construction with a simple rectangular frame, traditional wooden shaker roof and clapboard siding. The craftsmanship of the building is brilliantly demonstrates its plain, yet simplistic, beauty.
In October of 2025 we were tasked with looking into alternate roof materials for the building. In some of the older photographs (swipe left), it’s apparent that the roof was in need of repair, as rot and moss took over. We looked at several options, such as slate shingles (which would we would have needed to reinforce the roof to adapt it to the extra weight), synthetic slate, and synthetic cedar shakes.
Ultimately, it was decided that in order to keep the original character and sincerity of the meeting house, the building should retain its cedar shake roof.
What are your thoughts? 🏠
