Our History
1993
Founding
Founded by 4 young women in 1993, Sophia Community began its life in an apartment building on Dorchester Ave in Hyde Park.
Read our origin story.
2000
Move to Quaker House
We moved from an apartment building on Dorchester Ave to Quaker House on Woodlawn Ave, still in Hyde Park. Moving day was hot and humid, and much of our stuff stayed on the front lawn overnight until we recovered energy.
We began managing a guest business in Quaker House on behalf of the 57th Street Meeting of Friends (our landlords).
2005
Member Turnover
In the first decade of this century, many members were students, which meant that they only stayed for 1-2 years before completing their studies and moving on. We shifted our focus towards recruiting families, but found that they did not stay any longer.
At the same time, we developed a core of long-term members that provided stability even with this turnover each year.
2009
Quaker Volunteer Service
From 2009 to 2013, we hosted the Quaker Volunteer Service before the Quakers developed a national program in Atlanta. The 57th Street Meeting of friends sponsored young Quakers just out of college for a year’s community service, with our community providing them a taste of communal living. Even though they were considerably younger than the rest of the community adults, they fitted in well.
2015
14 Members
At our peak in 2015, we had 14 members, which included three families each with two children
2018
25 Years
We hosted our 25th anniversary reunion at Quaker House. During the event, we launched We’ll Weave a Love that Greens Sure as Spring, a book recounting the history of our first 25 years.
2023
30 Years
We hosted our 30th anniversary reunion at Quaker House