The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Opinion A grist-mill article provides fodder for contemplating Quakers and abolition

October 20, 2017 at 5:38 p.m. EDT
Jeanne Minor gives a demonstration at Peirce Mill in Northwest Washington on Sept. 7. (Nathaniel Koch)

I have fond memories of biking and picnicking near Peirce Mill in Rock Creek Park as a child, so I enjoyed reading the Oct. 8 Washington Post Magazine Street Smart article "In Rock Creek Park, history is good grist," about how Quaker Isaac Peirce created a large milling business using the water of Rock Creek as a power source.

I was surprised, however, to read that the business “was supported by slave labor,” as it was my understanding that Quakers were leaders in the abolition movement.

In fact, according to the website the Abolition Project, "The abolition campaign in Britain was started by the Society of Friends, known as the Quakers. Quakers believe that all people are created equal in the eyes of God. . . . By 1761, Quakers had come to view abolition as a Christian duty and all Quakers, on both sides of the Atlantic, were barred from owning slaves."

I would like to know more about the circumstances under which Peirce relied on slave labor, as the Quaker religion prohibited its members from owning slaves at the time.

Rachel A. Bernhardt, Silver Spring