Murderkill / Motherkiln Friends Meeting House Site

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Quakers were gathering for worship in this area by 1712, when members of the Religious Society of Friends met “at the widow Needham’s at Murderkill Creek.” Established as Motherkiln Preparative Meeting (under the care of Duck Creek Meeting), the group probably met in the homes of its members until a meetinghouse was constructed at this site, circa 1760, on land donated by William Jackson. The structure was burned soon thereafter, and for a time Friends debated locating the Meeting to a site near Tidbury Creek. At length, it was decided to re-erect a (brick) meetinghouse here. As of 1788 Motherkiln Meeting gained the status of a monthly meeting. By 1814 members were considering removal to the growing community of Camden, where a preparative meting had been established in 1805. Regular worship at this site was discontinued by 1828, and in 1839 the Motherkiln and Duck Creek meeting, formally united with Camden Preparative Meeting, forming Camden Monthly Meeting of Friends. The Motherkiln Meetinghouse was used occasionally until 1844 when the building was sold and dismantled.

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WARNER MIFFLIN 1745-1798
A native of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Mifflin came to Delaware as a young man. Born into a slaveholding Quaker family, he manumitted his own slaves in 1774-75 and later became one of America’s foremost abolitionists of the 18th century. As an elder of the Religious Society of Friends, he traveled extensively to convince others to free their slaves. He addressed the legislatures of several states and presented numerous petitions and memorials to the United States Congress opposing slavery and the abuse of free blacks. In 1788, he was one of the founders of Delaware’s first abolition society. Warner Mifflin was recognized internationally for his antislavery efforts and is credited with assisting a great number of African-Americans in obtaining their freedom. He was an advocate for peace during the American Revolution. At the time of the Battle of Germantown, Mifflin was a member of a committee of Quakers that traveled to meet with both American General Washington and British General Howe to present a testimony against war. He was laid to rest here following his death on October 16, 1798. Warner Mifflin was widely known and respected for his brave efforts to promote “righteousness, mercy and peace, among mankind.”

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