Elizabeth Dixon believes Drumore Friends Meetinghouse is a historical gem hidden in plain sight.

"People know where it is and use it to give directions but don't know anything about it," she said.

Dixon is hoping to change that by playing an integral role in exhibits featured during events this summer.

Open houses will be held on Saturdays, July 12, Aug. 9, and Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1495 Susquehannock Drive, Drumore. There will be a map showing where residents lived, and a self-guided tour through the cemetery is encouraged. Visitors are welcome to bring a picnic lunch and a blanket for seating on the meetinghouse grounds. The meetinghouse was featured on a garden tour last year, and Dixon's exhibits were well received.

Dixon, who grew up in Pittsburgh and now resides in Seattle, first became interested in learning more about her ancestors while looking through photos which belonged to her grandmother Marguerite Earnhart Bennett. Dixon is related to two-thirds of the 25 founding families of Drumore Friends.

Dixon delved deeper into her family's history to gain a better understanding of the Drumore Quakers and the community as a whole. "History came alive for me," she said. "As I started to research, it became increasingly real for me."

It's fair to say the Drumore Quakers were movers and shakers.

Around the turn of the 19th century, the area featured two general stores, as well as three mills, one of which was owned by the Pennock family and is now Drumore Mill, a venue that hosts weddings and other events. The Ambler family founded Quarryville National Bank. Sallie Bolton Pyle was in the inaugural class of Lancaster Normal School, which became Millersville University.

Dixon discovered a diary written in 1890 by an ancestor, Jessie Wynona Lamborn, who was 22 years old at the time. A self-described amateur storyteller, Dixon said she gleaned fascinating information from reading Wynona's records.

Members of Drumore Friends Meetinghouse will serve ice cream to visitors at the July 12 open house, which will also feature audio exhibits spoken by Dixon. "This will be a deeper dive into the Drumore families," she said.

Abolitionists Joseph Smith and George Lamborn will be two of the topics. Smith hid slaves in a subterranean level beneath his barn on Fishing Creek. George helped slaves pass through a wind cave, which is a cave that has two entrance/exit points.

The subject of the Aug. 9 event will be "Drumore Quakers at Work and at Play."

"Quakers are known as serious, hard-working people who didn't have fun," Dixon said. "That's a misconception." Wynona's diary revealed that groups gathered at the meetinghouse to recite poetry and play cards and tiddlywinks.

Wynona married Early Earnhart, who got his first name because he was born before he was expected. Early formed the Earnhart Family Orchestra.

Another member of the Friends, Simon Pennock, was a renowned pewtersmith whose work has appeared at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Dixon will make the cross-country trip to attend the Sept. 13 open house in person. She will talk more about Wynona and Early's story and provide a glimpse of what everyday life was like. For example, before marrying Early, Wynona taught in Fulton Township and lived in Drumore with her aunt and uncle, Alice and Will Shoemaker.

Dixon will also share details about Frank Tennis, who fought in the Civil War. Quakers were rightfully known as peaceful people, but they also strongly believed in equality, said Dixon.

She added that some of the people who attend the open house could be in for a surprise. "If your family tree includes the names Shoemaker, Cutler, Smith, Ambler, and Walton, it's very likely you have Drumore Quaker ancestors that you may not know about," she said.

Go to the organization's Facebook page, Drumore Friends Meeting House, for more information.