TNB Night Owl – Chautauqua

Athenaeum Hotel, built 1881, on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution.
Athenaeum Hotel, built 1881, on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution. Image captured by the News Blender.

In 1874, Lewis Miller and John Heyl Vincent founded the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly on 750 acres. The rural setting on the shore of the lake is in western New York State, not far from Erie, Pennsylvania. Their initial purpose was to provide Sunday school teachers with education and training during the summer vacation months in a rustic camp setting. The concept was immediately successful, expanding beyond Sunday school lessons to include courses in art, music, various academic subjects, and physical education.

Expanding their goals further, the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC) was begun in 1878 to provide the “skills and essential knowledge” of a  college education through a four-year long correspondence course, one of the earliest efforts at distance learning. CLSC students were encouraged to form local reading circles in order to share the cost burden of purchasing textbooks, and to encourage one another to succeed and graduate. The CLSC is still educating students today. Beneficiaries of the program include those who don’t have the time or money to attend college, or lack proximity to a physical college campus.

CLSC was such a big hit with the public that many “Daughter Chautauquas” were established all across the nation. People at that time were thirsty for knowledge and enlightenment: the “Chautauqua Movement” was born, a chapter in American history and culture that lasted until the early 1930s, now forgotten to all but a few.

The original “Mother Chautauqua” is still going strong today, although few of the Daughter Chautauquas still exist. The non-profit organization is today called the Chautauqua Institution and is open to all faiths and creeds. Guests are invited from all over the nation and the world to come give lectures, presentations, and performances. The subjects are diverse: art, dance, music, theater, philosophy, education, science, religion, to name a few broad categories.

John Vincent said “Chautauqua is an idea, embracing the ‘all things’ of life – art, science, society, religion, patriotism, education – whatsoever tends to enlarge, refine, and ennoble the individual”, and that Chautauqua’s purpose was “to take people on all sides of their natures and make them new, more intelligent and thoughtful in a world of ideas”.

Chautauqua “embraces education as a life-long pursuit”, and from 1880 on it was “a national forum for open discussion of public issues, international relations, literature and science”, as well as current events, and myriad other topics. It’s a place where people can disagree and discuss their differences civilly and rationally, face to face.

“CHAUTAUQUA: AN AMERICAN NARRATIVE  | Extended Preview | PBS” (3:10):

The architecture on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution is incredible, encompassing all the popular building styles from the 1870s to the 1930s. If you enjoy architecture, you must see these pictures, or search online for more Chautauqua Institute images.

Question of the Night: What is your favorite architectural style?

About the opinions in this article…

Any opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website or of the other authors/contributors who write for it.

About Richard Doud 622 Articles
Learning is a life-long endeavor. Never stop learning. No one is right all the time. No one is wrong all the time. No exceptions to these rules.