| 1915 | The Woolman School, Pendle Hill’s predecessor, opens under the care of the Advancement Committee of Friends General Conference. |
| 1925 | Mary Lippincott donates her estate in Wyncote, Pa., to the Woolman School. |
| 1927 | The Woolman School is closed for lack of students and funds; Continuation Committee appointed. |
| 1927 | Planning meeting for a new Quaker educational center is held at Haverford (Pa.) Meetinghouse. |
| 1928 | Henry T. Hodgkin is chosen as director of studies for the new school. |
| 1929 | Three days after the stock market crash, Henry Hodgkin meets with leaders of the Pendle Hill experiment and recommends a curriculum of Quakerism, philosophy, applied Christianity, Bible, psychology, and religious education. Ann Silver of Beaverton, Oreg., is the first student registered. |
| 1930-42 | Joseph Platt provides continuity in operations through the changes in director. |
| 1930-54 | Robert Yarnall chairs the Pendle Hill Board. |
| 1930 | In September, Pendle Hill opens in Wallingford, Pa. Students are from nine states plus Canada, Scotland, and Japan, including two African American students. Teachers and lecturers include Henry Sharman, Rufus Jones, Henry Cadbury, Douglas Steere, Ilse Forrest, and George Thomas. |
| 1934 | The first Pendle Hill pamphlet, Cooperation and Coercion as Methods of Social Change, by Vincent Nicholson, is published, followed by A Religious Solution to the Social Problem, by Howard Brinton. |
| 1935 | Programmatic cooperation between Pendle Hill and American Friends Service Committee begins through Clarence Pickett. |
| 1936-49 | Anna Brinton serves as director and Howard Brinton as director of studies with a shared vision of applying Quaker principles to adult education and integrating religion with science. Faith-based social change work flourishes, including labor education. |
| 1949-52 | Howard Brinton serves as director. |
| 1952-70 | Dan Wilson serves first as acting director, then as director. There is a greater inward focus and emphasis on the creative arts and literature. |
| 1954-72 | Douglas Steere chairs the Pendle Hill Board. |
| 1960 | The growing importance of contemplation at Pendle Hill is reflected in the change of tagline from "Center for Religious and Social Study" to "A Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation." |
| mid- to late- ’60s | Students and staff demand more participatory governance; many staff and students are involved in nonviolent social change work, including civil rights activism. |
| 1971-72 | Colin Bell and Robert Scholz serve as directors. |
| 1972-74 | Robert Scholz serves as director. |
| 1974-81 | Edwin Sanders serves as executive clerk of a team in a new administrative model. |
| 1975-80 | Parker Palmer serves as dean of studies, writes The Meeting for Learning. |
| 1970s-80s | Pendle Hill witness includes divestment in South Africa, supporting war-tax resisters on staff, and food "lower on the food chain." |
| 1981-86 | Robert Lyon serves as executive clerk. |
| 1986-91 | Margery Walker serves as executive secretary; the change in title comes from the Board. |
| 1990s | Young adult leadership development becomes part of Pendle Hill’s mission. |
| 1991-2000 | Dan Seeger serves as executive secretary. |
| 2000-05 | Steve Baumgartner serves as executive director (another title change). There is greater programmatic focus on off-campus social witness. |
| 2005-07 | Barbara Parsons and Ken and Katharine Jacobsen serve as interim directors. |
| 2007 | Lauri Perman begins service as executive director. |
| 2009 | Pendle Hill pamphlet #400, Finding the Taproot of Simplicity by Frances Irene Taber, is published. |
| 2010-11 | Pendle Hill celebrates 80 years of service to Friends, other spiritual seekers, and the broader community. |
Pendle Hill Timeline
June 1, 2011