Vermontville Chapel and Academy
The Vermontville Academy, also known as the First Congregational Chapel, is a building in Vermontville, Michigan, located oat 106 North Main Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972,[1] and is part of the Historic American Buildings Survey.[2] It now serves as the Vermontville Historical Museum.
Vermontville Chapel and Academy | |
The Vermontville Academy, August 2014 | |
Location | 106 N. Main St. Vermontville, Michigan |
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Coordinates | 42°37′48″N 85°1′31″W |
Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
Built | 1844 |
NRHP reference No. | 72000610[1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | August 7, 1972 |
Designated MSHS | June 27, 1969 |
History
The town's early settlers, who came from Vermont and called themselves the Union Colony, arrived in the area in 1836. The first school classes were held in a private home in 1838, and later that year a log schoolhouse was erected. By 1843, the population of the village had grown enough that an association was formed to construct a building to serve the community as both an academy and a church. The society raised money by subscription, and the building and its upper academic floor was completed in 1844 at its original location, a short distance west of the present location.[3] The Vermontville Academical Association operated the building as an academy and chapel. A general store opened on the first floor in 1853, and the structure also served as the town's meeting hall.[4] The lower story was finished as a church in 1851, but religious services ceased in 1864 when a nearby Congregational church was constructed.[3]
A few years later the academy and the district public schools were united into a Union School, which used the building for classes, In 1869, the district decided to construct a new brick schoolhouse, and the academy building was abandoned. A short while later, it was moved to its present location, and remodeled to use for prayer and social meetings on the first floor, and theatrical performances on the upper.[3] The building was refurbished in the early 1900s, enlarging the kitchen and turning the upper floor into a dining room. In 1965, the Vermontville Historical Society was organized, and in 1966 received permission from the First Congregational Church, which still owned the building, to convert it into a museum. The building was officially opened to the public as a museum in 1967. The building was rehabilitated in the 1970s and 80s.[5]
Description
The Vermontville Academy is a rectangular two-story gable-roof structure clad with clapboards on a low foundation. It measures about 40 feet by 30 feet. The main entrance is on one end, and the windows are 12-over-12 double hung units. On the interior, each level has a vestibule, with the remainder of the space being an open auditorium.[3][2]
References
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. MI-0040, "First Congregational Chapel, North Main & West Main Streets, Vermontville, Eaton County, MI"
- Constance Henslee (May 25, 1971), National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Vermontville Chapel and Academy
- "Vermontville Academy". Michigan Historical Marker.
- "Get to Know Your Village". Village of Vermontville. November 11, 2014. Retrieved February 7, 2018.