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Frozen in Time: The Rustic Solitude of Arney’s Mount

Travel the back roads of Burlington County, New Jersey, long enough, and you will eventually stumble upon a building that stops you in your tracks.

Located on a quiet corner in Springfield Township, surrounded by a stone wall and a graveyard of weathered markers, sits a dark, textured stone building. It looks ancient, almost medieval.

This is Arney’s Mount Friends Meeting House. Built in 1775, this Quaker meeting house is not just a relic of the Revolutionary War era; it is a functioning time capsule. To this day, the building has no electricity and no plumbing. When the sun goes down, the only light comes from oil lamps, and in the winter, the only heat comes from a wood stove.

Built from the Earth

The first thing you notice about Arney’s Mount is the color of the stone. It is constructed of ironstone (often called “bog iron” stone), a sedimentary rock rich in iron oxides found throughout the New Jersey Pine Barrens. This gives the building a distinct, dark rust-colored hue that ties it directly to the geology of South Jersey.

The Timeline:

• 1743: Local Quakers received permission to hold meetings here, likely in a log schoolhouse.
• 1775: The current stone structure was built.
• 1800 & 1809: The building suffered two major fires. While the interior was destroyed, the sturdy ironstone walls survived.
• 1811: The interior was reconstructed, and the building you see today is largely unchanged from this date.

The “Graffiti” Mystery

Quakers are known for their “Testimony of Simplicity.” They generally avoided ornamentation or acts of vanity. This makes the exterior of Arney’s Mount puzzling.

Etched prominently into the datestone on the gable end is the name “S. Smith.” On the opposite side, the name “I. Coate” appears.

• The Theory: Historians believe these refer to Samuel Smith and a member of the Coate family, who served as builders or financiers. However, carving one’s name so boldly into a house of worship was highly unusual for Quakers of that era, suggesting these two men had a bit of pride they couldn’t quite suppress.

The Blueberry Connection

By the late 1800s, attendance dwindled, and the meeting house closed its doors in 1871. It sat silent for decades until a revival in the 1940s.

One of the key figures in this revival was Elizabeth White.

• Who was she? Elizabeth White is New Jersey royalty. She was the proprietor of Whitesbog, the historic cranberry village. More importantly, she is the woman who cultivated the very first commercial blueberry.
• Her Role: White helped reopen the meeting house in 1941, ensuring that this piece of history was preserved for future generations.

The Mystery House

Just a mile down the road (on Birmingham-Arneys Mount Road), you might spot another small structure built of the same dark ironstone.

• The Date: A stone on the building reads “1823” with the initials “A.L.”
• The Clue: These initials almost certainly stand for Arney Lippincott, the landowner for whom “Arney’s Mount” is named. While not part of the meeting house property today, it is a surviving link to the family that gave the area its identity.

If You Visit

Arney’s Mount is still an active, though small, Quaker meeting. The grounds are generally open to respectful visitors who want to walk the perimeter and view the historic cemetery.

• Location: Intersection of Mount Holly-Juliustown Road and Tower Drive, Pemberton (Springfield Twp), NJ 08068.
• The Outhouse: Because there is no plumbing, the site features a beautifully preserved, two-door brick privy (outhouse) dating to the 1930s. It’s a rare example of historic sanitary architecture!
• The View: The meeting house sits on “Arney’s Mount,” which, at roughly 230 feet above sea level, is the highest point in Burlington County.

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