FLUSHING MONTHLY MEETING

        Flushing Monthly Meeting, Belmont County, Ohio, was set up 10th Mo. 23rd, 1818, by Plainfield Monthly Meeting.  It was composed of Flushing, Nottingham, Bushy Fork, Westchester, Lower Flushing and Guernsey Preparative Meetings.  In 1817, Nottingham Preparative Meeting built a large, brick house, planned for a quarterly meeting house and the name was changed from Nottingham to Freeport.  Among early ministers at Flushing were Jacob Branson and Abigail Branson; other ministers in the limits of the monthly meeting were Joseph Cadwallader and Israel Wilson.  Henry Carver, Jr. and Ann Strahl were the first to marry in Flushing Monthly Meeting, 12th Mo. 25th, 1818.

        In 3rd Mo. 24th, 1820, the monthly meetings of Flushing, Plainfield and Stillwater united in asking for a new quarterly meeting to be known as Stillwater.  In 1828 it was decided to hold the Flushing Monthly Meeting at Guernsey and Flushing all the time.  Bushy Fork meeting belonged to this monthly meeting.  It was laid down 1st Mo. 24, 1823; then set up again 2nd Mo. 27th 1824.  It was again laid down 5th Mo. 24th 1832.  

        A library was placed in the Flushing and Freeport local meetings in 1822.  From the establishment of Flushing Monthly Meeting until the close of 1854, there was no interruption in the work of the meeting, but on 11th Mo. 23rd 1854, the meeting was divided as a result of the Conservative separation.  In 1875, the large, brick house on the hill near Freeport was torn down and rebuilt in the town with the date inscribed over the doorway, “Rebuilt in 1875”, leaving the original date of 1817 in the gable.