Cane Creek Friends Meeting

History

Simon Dixon, a Quaker from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, migrated to the Cane Creek area, now Snow Camp, North Carolina, in the late 1740s. By 1751, about thirty other Quaker families had joined him there. That year, Quaker Minister Abigail Pike and Rachel Wright traveled to Perquimans County to attend the Quarterly Meeting at Little River, seeking permission to establish a new monthly meeting at Cane Creek. Permission was granted, and the first Monthly Meeting was held on October 7, 1751, with certificates issued to fifteen founding members.

By the following year, the Meeting had issued sixty-eight certificates. Five physical structures have housed the Monthly Meeting; four, including the present-day meeting house, stand on land donated by William Marshall and his wife Rebecca Dixon in 1764. The Cane Creek Monthly Meeting is called the "Mother of Meetings" for giving rise to other Monthly Meetings in the region. Between 1866 and 1903, the Meeting House operated Sylvan Grove Academy; the current Sylvan Elementary school in Snow Camp reflects this heritage.

During the Revolutionary War, after the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, General Charles Cornwallis and his troops occupied Snow Camp. Simon Dixon's home and mill were seized for use as Cornwallis' headquarters. Livestock were slaughtered, and Meeting House benches were used as butcher blocks. These events are portrayed in the historical drama Sword of Peace by the Snow Camp Outdoor Theater.

Did You Know?

• Herman Husband, a leader during the War of the Regulation, was a member of the Cane Creek Meeting from 1762 to 1764 but was disowned after expressing dissatisfaction over another member's dismissal.
• Thomas Jefferson Hadley, a captain during the Revolutionary War, was disowned from the Cane Creek Meeting due to his participation in the war.