Quaker Graveyard Tours

Join us for a fascinating look at the lives and deaths of the early Quaker residents of New Castle. On this exclusive guided tour, New Castle Town Historian Gray Williams brings to life the history of the local Quaker community. The graveyard of the Chappaqua Friends’ Meeting on Quaker Road was founded in the mid-18th century and continued to add graves through much of the 20th. The graveyard is located next to the Friends' Meetinghouse, which dates to the 1750s and is one of the oldest buildings in town. The history of the Quaker Graveyard is very much a story of families. On each tour, you will meet twenty or so of them. They will include families who founded Chappaqua and shaped its early history, families such as Kipp and Dodge who left their names on the land, and families who may have lived where you live now. In fact, in many instances, their family homes still exist, as New Castle Landmarks. Local legend holds that the meetinghouse served as a field hospital for some of General George Washington's soldiers as they fled the Battle of White Plains in October 1776. Join us as we mark the 250th anniversary of the battle and dive into the unique history of our community!