History
A Brief History of Mt. Airy Friends Meeting
During the 1890’s, several Friends ministers came to Mt. Airy and held ‘”stirring” revivals. Annie Armitage and Emma Malone were from Ohio, Mary C. Moon came from Guilford College, and Meredith and John Kitrell from Indiana.
By 1894, a group of Friends. Led by G. Calvin Welch, John L. Worth and Caleb Mitchell began to meet in the Methodist Church (which still stands by the present Meetinghouse). When the building was sold, Friends move to a large room call “The Hall” on the second floor of the old Welch Building on South Main Street. Growth was steady and by 1904 Mt. Airy Friends, with $1850 in the building fund, announced plans for a new Meetinghouse. Leverette Rugg was pastor at that time. When the building was completed sometime in 1905, the outstanding debt was only $500. By the time of the dedication on April 14, 1907 the Meeting was debt free. The total cost of the Meeting House, described as a beautiful new building of granite, was $3500.
By 1907, membership was approximately 100 and the Meeting was vigorously engaged in Bible study groups, Sunday School and revivals. Much effort was given to evangelism in the area. The Meeting participated in the establish of a Meeting at Dobson and supported efforts “over the mountain” at Galax and Hillsville. It also supported work in Tennessee and West Virginia and joined other Meetings in Surry Quarterly Meeting in the support of the Blue Ridge Mission in Ararat, Virginia (which had been established in 1888). Nor were traditional Quaker concerns forgotten. Old minutes frequently reference to the Meeting’s activities on behalf of such concerns as peace testimony and opposition of the death penalty.
Shortly after the Meetinghouse was completed, John L. Worth built and donated a house on South Main Street to be used as a parsonage. In a few years, Sunday School rooms were added to the Meetinghouse. The Fellowship Hall was added in 1966-67.