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Quaker Hill
Conference Center
Richmond, Indiana
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 Women participating in a retreat at Quaker Hill.

Quaker Hill Conference Center and Friends in Richmond

The main building, Evans House, was built in 1855 by Isaac Evans as a wedding present for his bride, Mary Ann Buffam. They had four children, and their home was a center of warm hospitality over the years. The house stayed in the family until the Depression. It was purchased back by their grandson, Isaac Woodward, in 1940, who planned for it to be used as a regional conference center.

During the Second World War, the house was used for refugee resettlement, and also housed a day camp and a Rural Life Association. A large new dormitory, staff housing and a kitchen/dining area were added in the late 1960's.

Quaker Hill Conference Center has operated since 1970 as a conference and retreat facility whose mission is to host Friends, other religious groups and the local not-for-profit community. We also offer our own programs a few times a year designed to be of interest and value to Friends in this region and from wider circles. QHCC is owned and operated by the Quaker Hill Foundation, a not-for-profit religious foundation established in 1939. We are an independent Friends organization, but are most closely related to Friends United Meeting and the three nearest FUM Yearly Meetings: Indiana, Western and Wilmington. Groups representing the wider circles of Friends in North America are also frequent guests at Quaker Hill.

Historical Highlights of Friends in Richmond and Quaker Hill

  • 1806 - Friends/Quakers from Ohio start settling in this area 
  • 1818 - Richmond formally established and named by local Quakers
  • 1821 - Indiana Yearly Meeting established in Richmond
  • 1847 - Friends Boarding School established, Mary Ann Buffum one of first teachers
  • 1852 - Isaac Evans moves from Ohio to Richmond 
  • 1855 - Isaac Evans and Mary Ann Buffum marry and build a home at "Quaker Hill"
  • 1859 - Friends Boarding School becomes Earlham College
  • 1887 - Richmond Declaration of Faith created
  • 1902 - Five Years Meeting established in Richmond
  • 1939/40 - Isaac Evans Woodard purchases Evans House and Quaker Hill Foundation established to own and operated this facility as a center for Friends and others in the Midwest
  • 1940s - Many activities at Quaker Hill in first decade as a Friends center
  • 1950s and 1960s - Evans House comes under Five Years Meeting/Friends United Meeting and lesser level of activity experienced
  • 1970 - Quaker Hill Foundation re-activated and Quaker Hill Conference Center established
  • 2005 - 150th Anniversary of Evans House, 65th Anniversary of the Quaker Hill Foundation, and 35th Anniversary of Quaker Hill Conference Center
  • 2006 - 200th Anniversary of the arrival of the first Quaker settlers in what would become Richmond and Wayne County, Indiana

Last updated January 2008· Copyright ©2002 Quaker Hill Conference Center
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