Call Number:

0108

Repository:

Worcester Historical Society

Extent:

1.6 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1916-1983 (inclusive)

Creator:

Fairview Village Assembly.

Abstract:

The Fairview Village Assembly in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania was organized in 1916 to advance the social and intellectual lives of the local farming community. The group constructed a meeting space that was used for lectures, entertainment, and religious observance. The Fairview Village Assembly records, 1916-1983, include minute books, stockholder records, and treasurer's reports. The collection also features a small amount of records from the Ladies' Auxiliary.

"The Fairview Village Assembly was organized on January 19, 1916, at the home of Hail M. Wilson. As stated in the Constitution, the purpose of the organization [was] to promote sociability and cooperation, to advance agriculture and horticulture, to maintain a hall for public and private use, to do such things as tend to advance the interest of the community...Various forms of entertainment were presented, such as addresses on timely topics, dialogues and music selections. An annual festival was held. Religious services were held on Sunday afternoons once a month...Chicken and oyster suppers, minstrel shows, bazaars and the sale of stock helped to furnish the funds for [a] building.''

A site was purchased in 1917, and a hall was completed in 1919. The first meeting in the new hall was held in 1920. In later decades, the hall was used as a site for tennis games, pool tournaments, card parties, square dances, community suppers, and family reunions. The association was dissolved in 1983.

Bibliography:

Quoted material from: Research Committee of the Worcester Historical Society. "Fairview Village Assembly Hall" in A History of Worcester Township, 214-215. Boyertown, PA: Boyertown Publishing Company, 1976.

The Fairview Village Assembly records include nine minute books, one stockholders record book, and four books of treasurer's reports. The collection also includes some records from the Ladies' Auxiliary: one volume of membership lists, two minute books, and two treasurer's books.