Prospectville Needlework Guild

According to the National Giving Alliance, The Needlework Guild began in England in 1882 following a mining disaster in nearby Wales. Lady Diana Wolverton gathered a group of people together to make clothing (one to wear, one to wash) for children whose parents had died in the disaster.

She “glimpsed the fact that old garments might pauperize, but new garments equalize.”

In 1885, Mrs. Harpence of Philadelphia was impressed with the work that was being done and shared the concept with her niece, Laura Safford, who in turn told six of her friends. They agreed to help her sew for the needy. The first year, they collected 921 articles which were donated to hospitals and orphanages. The Needlework Guild of America was founded in Philadelphia in 1885 and later incorporated in Pennsylvania in 1896.

The National Headquarters for the Needlework Guild of America is now located in Warminster, Pennsylvania.

Information about the Prospectville Branch of the Needlework Guild of America has been preserved by HPHA through a donation of memorabilia from John J Nesbitt III, formerly of Horsham and now residing in Newtown Square, PA. Mr. Nesbitt’s mother had been a member of the guild.