To the Editor:

On Saturday, Oct. 12, at 10 a.m., the New Scotland Historical Association will be dedicating a historical marker commemorating the New Salem Religious Society of Friends Meeting House on Route 85 in New Salem.

The marker will be located a quarter-mile east of the Osterhout Community Center. This is the site where the building that served as a meeting house from 1847 until 1859 stood.

Quaker communities have existed in New York since the Dutch period.

When they settled in New Netherlands, the Quakers fought for religious freedom, submitting the famous 1657 Flushing Remonstrance to Peter Stuyvesant, requesting an exemption from his ban on Quaker worship. The Flushing Remonstrance is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution’s provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of Rights.

In the mid-19th Century, Quakers were in the forefront of most reform movements, including the abolition of slavery and women’s rights.

This marker serves as a reminder of the important inroads being achieved in small hamlets such as New Salem within the town of New Scotland. 

The New Scotland Historical Association invites the public to attend this dedication. If you plan to attend, please park in the Community Center’s parking lot and walk to the marker site. The Community Center is located at 7 The Old New Salem Road. 

Judy Kimes

Publicist

New Scotland Historical Association