Historic Chapel

Wooster Memorial Chapel, Fountain Hill Cemetery // 1915

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Located in Fountain Hill Cemetery, which has become a sort of Rural Cemetery in the small town of Deep River, Connecticut, this handsome gothic chapel graces the entrance and has provided a place of solemn memorials and celebrations of life for over 100 years. The Fountain Hill Cemetery was originally established in 1851, but after a half-century of use, Miss Mary McCellan Wooster (1839-1911), sought a non-denominational chapel for the grounds to not only beautify the local cemetery, but provide a place to honor the dead. In her will, Miss Wooster left $10,000 for a new chapel. The cemetery board of directors hired architect, Isaac Allen, Jr. of Hartford, Connecticut, to design the structure. The Neo-Gothic chapel was built of local stone and opened to the public in April 1915.

Another interesting story in the cemetery is the mysterious ‘XYZ’ gravestone. Legend says that in the evening of December 13, 1899, an unnamed man arrived in Deep River, Connecticut (along with three other male accomplices), to rob the local bank. This unnamed individual was confronted by the night security guard with a sawed-off shotgun, firing at the robber, blowing away part of his face. The other three robbers fled, leaving their accomplice in Deep River. In the hope that someone could identify him, his body was laid out for viewing at the local funeral parlor. During this time, an anonymous letter arrived, requesting that the man be buried with the headstone only marked as XYZ. The odd request was accorded, but was never fully explained. To this day, many locals leave stones and coins at the marker in Fountain Hill Cemetery.

St. John’s Church, Portsmouth // 1807

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St. John’s Episcopal Church is located on Chapel Street, atop Church Hill near the historic commercial center of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. A church has been located on this site since 1732, when British Anglicans built Queen’s Chapel here. It was named “Queen’s Chapel” after King George II’s wife, Queen Caroline, who donated many fine gifts to help the new parish. The congregation increased in growth alongside the community until a tragic fire on Christmas Eve in 1806, which destroyed over 300 buildings in Portsmouth including the original wooden structure of St. John’s and most of its contents. The parishioners immediately began to raise funds to erect the present brick church, with its cornerstone laid in June 1807. The Federal style church was one of the first known buildings by architect-engineer, Alexander Parris, in the time before he moved to Boston, designing many iconic buildings there. St. John’s Church of Portsmouth stands as the oldest Episcopal Parish in New Hampshire and was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

St. Mark’s Orthodox Church // 1882

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Built in 1882 as a Catholic mission church, the St. Mark’s Orthodox Church on Main Street in Kingston, Massachusetts, stands as a lovely example of a Victorian Gothic ecclesiastical building in a great state of preservation. In the waning decades of the 19th century, the Irish and Catholic population of Kingston grew, which led members to petition the Diocese to erect a mission church closer to their homes, rather than attend St. Peter’s in Plymouth. Originally called St. Joseph’s Church, the building served the local Catholic population until after the new, brick St. Joseph’s. Church was built further down Main Street in the 1930s. The local St. Mark Of Ephesus Orthodox Church congregation purchased the chapel in 1995 and restored the building, removing faux-brick shingling and reshingled the exterior.

Union Chapel, Twilight Park // 1897

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The Union Chapel in the summer colony of Twilight Park in the Catskill Mountains of New York, is one of the finest late Victorian chapels in the region. The edifice was built in 1897, a year following the erection of the All Angels Episcopal Church, in Twilight Park, and was designed to complement the rustic character of the surrounding cottages. The chapel was built as a non-denominational, or Union church, for summer residents of the colony who preferred an alternative to Episcopal sermons down the dirt road. The church was designed by Alice Hands, of the New York firm Gannon & Hands, the first all-female architectural firm in the United States. The chapel was eventually closed in 1970 and converted to a private residence, with some stained glass windows donated to the Episcopal Church in Twilight Park.

Pine Grove Cemetery Mausoleum & Chapel // c.1875 & 1904

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Mausoleum

The mausoleum and the Jonas A. Stone Memorial Chapel are two historic structures located in the Pine Grove Cemetery of Westborough, Massachusetts. Land here was acquired in 1746 by the Reverend Ebenezer Parkman, and it comprised of a pine lot of sixteen acres on the road to Mendon (now South Street). Nearly 100 years later, in 1844, the lot was deeded to the town as a new cemetery, as the older cemeteries were quickly becoming crowded. It was named Pine Grove after the historic use of the grounds. Due to the rural cemetery movement, which sought to reimagine cemeteries as a beautiful park-like setting, not a simple burial ground, many Westborough families purchased plots here and some even moved their loved ones to the new family plot, in the “new” Pine Grove Cemetery.

Chapel

The Mausoleum was built sometime in the mid-19th century and is a modest, Greek Revival style structure of granite and brick construction. Four Doric columns support the portico and wooden roof which serves as a pediment above. The Jonas A. Stone Memorial Chapel was built in 1904 following a bequest to the town from the will of Jonas Adams Stone (1821-1900), and additional donation by his brother, Nymphas Stone. The Victorian Gothic chapel is built of brick and brownstone with a wooden gable and roof. The structure was damaged during the destructive 1938 New England Hurricane, but restored and is an important local landmark today.

Scotland Universalist Church – Shetucket Grange Hall // 1843

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This charming, Greek Revival style building near the town green in Scotland, Connecticut, was built in 1843 as a Universalist Church for area residents who split off from more Congregationalist beliefs. By the end of the 19th century, populations shifted heavily to industrial centers where work was more plentiful, the church appears to have lost much of its membership and the building became a local grange hall. The Shetucket Grange was organized in June 1887, and was a meeting place for local farmers and their families to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and agricultural pursuits. Today, the building is owned by the town, but it’s use is unclear. Greek Revival in style, the building retains much of its original architecture, from its simple form, facade with two entrances flanking a central hung window, and pilasters framing the bays.

Holyhood Cemetery Chapel // 1857

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Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts, was laid out in 1857 under the direction of Father Joseph M. Finotti, pastor of Assumption Parish , which included Brookline and Brighton. The cemetery reflects the mid-19th century influence of the Rural Cemetery movement and the romantic landscape cemetery planning begun at Cambridge’s Mount Auburn Cemetery in the 1830’s. A plan of the cemetery was drawn up by Shedd & Edson and published in August 1857. It shows curvilinear avenues and paths named after former bishops of Boston and Biblical figures. All were welcome to be buried except those who “died in a state of Drunkenness, Duel, or by self-destruction, unbaptized, non-Catholic, or otherwise opposed to the Catholic Church.” In the 1857 Shedd & Edson plan for Holyhood Catholic Cemetery, a chapel was located at the center on the hill shown in a small drawing on the edge of the plan. Known as St. Joseph’s Chapel, the stone building was designed by Patrick Keely, the successful and influential New York architect of many mid-19th century Catholic churches. The chapel would be dedicated in 1862. Decades later, a cemetery office was planned and built across Heath Street from the cemetery gates, but was demolished sometime in the 20th century. The cemetery grew and it along with the mid-19th century chapel, has been lovingly maintained to this day.  

Assumption Roman Catholic Church // 1922

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As Chicopee developed into one of the major industrial cities in Western Massachusetts, immigrant groups moved there, finding work at some of the major manufacturing companies. Irish and Polish churches were built and French and French Canadian residents too built their own church, where they could gather and worship in their native language. A wood-frame church was first built in the 1870s and used until it was destroyed by fire in 1912. It took a decade for the congregation to gather enough funds to purchase a new lot and build a new church, but patience was a virtue as their church is a stunner! The cornerstone for the church was laid in 1922 and the building was designed by local architect, George P. Dion, and constructed at the cost of $200,000. The building was dedicated in 1925 and is one of the finest, and most unique churches in the state. Italian Renaissance Revival in style, the church stands out for its 85-foot-tall campanile and cast-stone high-relief in the pediment at the facade. It is believed that within the relief, that depicts the figure of Mary surrounded by Cherubs, depicting the “Assumption of the Virgin,” George P. Dion used the likeness of his granddaughter as a face of one of the cherubs. The congregation moved out of the building but has been recently mortgaged to a new church, Iglesia Cristiana Casa De Paz y Restauración, showcasing the ever-changing demographics that keep our cities vibrant and stewards that do right by our collective history and buildings.

Wildwood Baptist Chapel // 1910

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Tucked away on a wooded lot, away from the main villages of Kennebunkport, Maine, the Wildwood Baptist Chapel sits on the side of the road looking like a scene from a storybook. The chapel was built in 1910 for Baptists residing in the Wildes District of town, between the busier Kennebunkport Village and Cape Porpoise. The stone used in the construction of the chapel was taken from nearby properties and assembled on site by a skilled mason who built the walls with a Shingle style roof. Services here were limited and eventually ceased in earnest in 1935, as personal automobile allowed residents to travel to the church in the village for services. The poorly insulated chapel and small fireplace made the sanctuary inside difficult to heat in the cold winter months. The chapel is maintained well to this day, and is primarily used for summer services and special events.

St. Mark’s Chapel // c.1855

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This charming old chapel was built in the 1850s in Warren, Rhode Island, to accompany the larger St. Mark’s Church. The building was relocated from the lot of the main church across the street to its current location and converted to a parish house. In the 1890s, the building was covered in wooden shingle siding and an addition was added to the rear, giving the building its current appearance. Today, the former chapel is used as a residence, and is very well maintained by the owners.