Editing Talbot County, Maryland (section)

===Third Haven Meeting House===
The [[Third Haven Meeting House]] of Society of Friends was built in 1682 by [[Quakers]]. After [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] was executed in England in 1649, then [[Virginia]] governor Berkley, who sympathized with the Royalists, drove Quakers out of Virginia for their religious beliefs. [[Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore|Lord Baltimore]] invited the refugees to Maryland Province to settle, and passed the [[Maryland Toleration Act|Toleration Act]].<ref>''[[The Star Democrat|The Easton Star Democrat]]'', May 21, 1948</ref> John Edmondson gave the Quakers land on which to settle near the [[Tred Avon River]] in what later became [[Easton, Maryland]]. The Meeting House sits on high ground surrounded by 3 wooded acres and is positioned along the Indian Trail (today known as Washington Street). [[George Fox]], father of the Quaker movement visited several times. Upon his death, [[Third Haven Meeting House]] received his personal library and collection. The Third Haven Meeting House may be the oldest framed building for religious meeting in The United States. According to tradition, Lord Baltimore attended a sermon given there by [[William Penn]].<ref>Dickerson, Preston, ''Talbot County: A History'', Centreville, Maryland 1983. page 32</ref>

In 1794, the rafters were extended on one side of the ridgepole. While this extension made more room inside the meeting house, it also made the building look lopsided. In 1879, a new [[Third Haven Meeting House]] was constructed out of brick, and still remains in use today. The ground floor now contains meeting rooms, and Sunday School is held on the second floor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ludlow |first=Cynthia |title=Historic Easton |year=1976 |pages=96–97 |oclc=5744626<!-- |ISBN not valid, unable to find a valid one. isbn=0-870000-305-4 -->}}</ref>