Heritage Hall Chapel
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Built in 1875, Heritage Hall is one of two original buildings constructed in Lakeside. For 25 years, Lakeside Chapel served as the home for the Marblehead Peninsula Methodist Episcopal Church congregation.
Today, the Lakeside Heritage Society operates Heritage Hall Museum out of this building to fulfill their mission to preserve the history of Lakeside Chautauqua and the Danbury Peninsula.
Images
Members of the Marblehead Methodist Episcopal Church and founders of Lakeside in 1875.
The Ladies Aide Hall in 1940.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
In the mid-1800s, the Methodist Episcopal Church had a three-point circuit on the Marblehead Peninsula which included congregations in small churches at Christy, Catawba, and Lakeside/Marblehead. By 1875, two years after the establishment of the Lakeside resort, members of the ME Church then located on what is now Route 163 decided to build a chapel in the center of Lakeside, at the intersection of Third Street and Maple Avenue. The congregation worshipped in the Lakeside Chapel for 25 years until they outgrew the building. In 1900, the Lakeside congregation purchased a brick building on the corner of Central Avenue and Fifth Street from a fraternal organization. During the fire of 1929, the brick church burned and the congregation held Sunday services at Orchestra Hall until 1952 when the present church was completed.
During the period from 1900 to 1952, the original wood-frame Lakeside Chapel was known as the Ladies’ Aid Hall.
It was operated by the Methodist Church women and used for Sunday School classes, church meetings and social events. Once the new church building at Fifth Street and Central Avenue was completed with space for meetings, the church sold the Ladies’ Aid Hall to the Lakeside Association and it was renamed Fellowship Hall.
Fellowship Hall continued to be used for community meetings and events. As the building deteriorated in the 1960s, it was used by Lakeside for storage. By 1968, the Lakeside Association Board decided to raze the building due to its deteriorated condition. Rather than see the historic Lakeside Chapel torn down, a group of history-minded Lakesiders formed the Lakeside Heritage Club, Inc. (now the Lakeside Heritage Society, Inc.) in 1968 to save the building. Based on an agreement with the Lakeside Association Board, the new Heritage Society repaired the building and opened it as a museum in 1969. The Heritage Hall Museum has increased its displays over the past 45+ years and developed activities for children while not charging admission fees.
During the period from 1900 to 1952, the original wood-frame Lakeside Chapel was known as the Ladies’ Aid Hall.
It was operated by the Methodist Church women and used for Sunday School classes, church meetings and social events. Once the new church building at Fifth Street and Central Avenue was completed with space for meetings, the church sold the Ladies’ Aid Hall to the Lakeside Association and it was renamed Fellowship Hall.
Fellowship Hall continued to be used for community meetings and events. As the building deteriorated in the 1960s, it was used by Lakeside for storage. By 1968, the Lakeside Association Board decided to raze the building due to its deteriorated condition. Rather than see the historic Lakeside Chapel torn down, a group of history-minded Lakesiders formed the Lakeside Heritage Club, Inc. (now the Lakeside Heritage Society, Inc.) in 1968 to save the building. Based on an agreement with the Lakeside Association Board, the new Heritage Society repaired the building and opened it as a museum in 1969. The Heritage Hall Museum has increased its displays over the past 45+ years and developed activities for children while not charging admission fees.
Sources
Heritage Hall Museum. Lakeside Heritage Society. May 21, 2015. Accessed December 19, 2017. http://www.lakesideheritagesociety.org/heritage-hall-museum.html.