Chautauqua Park Historic District

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a social and education movement called Chautauqua was one of the most influential and popular institutions in the United States. It emerged in 1874 in New York on the shores of Lake Chautauqua as a summer training camp for Sunday school teachers. It quickly grew into a national movement consisting of gatherings, called Chautauquas, where people could participate in educational programs, listen to lectures, and enjoy musical performances and other forms of entertainment. The movement reached Sac City in 1905 and gatherings were held here at the Sac County Fairgrounds. The site features a number of historic structures: an octagonal auditorium built in 1908, a pair of stone pillar gate posts, a stone bridge, a fish house, a stone shelter house, and the Metcalf Cabin, which is the first log cabin built in the county. The site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Chautauqua Park Historic District.

The Chautauqua movement was established by Methodist minister Lewis Miller and businessman John H. Vincent. As noted above, the first gathering was a summer camp where Sunday school teachers received training. The program was immediately successful and in the coming years the scope and length of the programs expanded to include classes for children and adults in a variety of academic subjects as well as in music, art, physical education. A correspondence study program began as well, becoming the first such program in the country to award correspondence degrees.

Eventually, Chautauquas, as they were called, began to spread around the country. In additional to educational programs, lectures, theater and musical performances started to be offered as well. While some Chatauquas were held at permanent venues, many were what was known as "circuit Chautauquas," which traveled from town to town and hosted the programs under large tents. These gatherings lasted for several days.

In order to attract circuit Chautauquas, towns needed to be connect to railroads and have financial support. Sac City had both. In December 1904, an organization with 120 members called the Sac City Chautauqua Association was established to sponsor the first Chautauqua in 1905, which took place from July 8 to 16 under a large tent erected on the fairgrounds. Subsequent Chautauquas were held in 1906 and 1907. The Association bought land next to the fairgrounds in 1908 and hired the architecture firm Proudfoot and Bird to design the auditorium, which resembles the Chautauqua tents.

Chautauquas started to decrease in popularity in the mid-1920s. Competition from other forms of entertainment such as movies and radio increased, and the onset of the Great Depression effectively spelled the end of the movement (some circuit Chautauquas did continue until World War II). In Sac City, Chautauquas came to end in 1936. It is not clear whether the last one was held that year, but the Association determined that hosting them was not possible anymore. The grounds were acquired by the city and converted into a park. The Metcalf Cabin was moved here around that time as well. While the Chautauqua movement is no longer popular, it lives on where it began at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York.

Canning, Charlotte. "Traveling Culture: Circuit Chautauqua in the Twentieth Century." The University of Iowa Libraries. Accessed February 23, 2022. https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/tc.

Perry, Bruce. "Chautauqua Park Historic District." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. February 5, 2014. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/50561a84-e11a-46d9-94e4-e6201a9dee89.