We acknowledge the indigenous ancestors of this sacred

land. The Attawandaron (Neutral) peoples once settled

this region along side the Haudenosaunee and

Algonquin peoples.

The following is a history of the European pioneers who

settled here and were the founders of what has become

Yarmouth Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of

Friends’.

The European pioneer of Yarmouth district was the

Quaker, Jonathan Doan, who came to this area in 1813.

He pitched his tent and lay down on the spot, which is

now the Quaker cemetery and where he is buried.

The land in this area had been granted to the Baby

family and Doan was acting as their land agent. After

two years Doan was so satisfied with the prospects that

he returned to Pennsylvania and brought back with him

several new families including William Harvey, John

Kipp, John Mills and Joseph Albertson.

Doan built the first flourmill in South Yarmouth and

operated the first tannery.

The first Meetinghouse was a little log building on the

corner of Jonathan Doan’s farm. He donated the land for

the use of the Meeting.

In 1821 a small frame Meetinghouse replaced the log

building and, in 1865, a new site was chosen in a

beautiful maple grove north of Sparta and the present

Meetinghouse was erected.