I’m going to Chautauqua in the middle of July with a couple of friends, so before I go I’ll spend some time telling you about this place. Today I’m going to give you a little history of Chautauqua as an institution and explain a little about what it offers. Next Tuesday (June 27), I’ll tell you about my history with Chautauqua, including where I’ve stayed on the grounds. The next Tuesday (July 4), I’ll give you some details about what will be happening the week I’m there. The final Tuesday before I go (July 11), I’ll fill in other details so you can get the complete picture. Then, while I’m at Chautauqua, I’ll write a couple of times in this newsletter about what I’m doing. Mark your calendars.
Chautauqua was founded in 1874 by inventor Lewis Miller and Methodist Bishop John Heyl Vincent as a teaching camp for Sunday school teachers. Every summer since then, the Institution has offered a gradually expanding program of arts, education, religion, and music. On the west shore of upper Chautauqua Lake, the institution expanded from a tent camp to a village with cottages and then rooming houses, hotels, and condominiums.
After Chautauqua was founded, it created the Chautauqua movement within the United States. The ideas of the Chautauqua Institution led to the formation of many independent Chautauqua assemblies, as well as circuit Chautauquas that spread to thousands of communities at the peak of the movement’s popularity in the 1920s. Today, there are four other “continuously operating” Chautauquas:
Lake Chautauqua in Lakeside, Ohio
Monteagle Sunday School Assembly in Monteagle, Tennessee
Colorado Chautauqua in Boulder, Colorado
New Piasa Chautauqua in Chautauqua, Illinois
In addition, there are eight other entities that self-report constitute independent Chautauquas and 10 others are considered “revival” Chautauquas, meaning that they started (or restarted) similar operations in the late 20th or early 21st centuries.
The Chautauqua Institution (the original location, which I’ll refer to in the rest of this article as “Chautauqua”) has been visited by hundreds of political figures, celebrities, artists, musicians, scientists, and writers. Four sitting US presidents have visited Chautauqua: Ulysses S. Grant in 1875, Teddy Roosevelt in 1905, FDR in 1936, and Bill Clinton in 1996. FDR gave his famous “I hate war” speech at Chautauqua. Future presidents Garfield and McKinley were guests in 1880 and 1895, respectively.
The other notable figures who have visited Chautauqua are too numerous to list, but here are a few: Booker T. Washington, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, Thurgood Marshall, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Lucille Ball, Johnny Mathis, Harry Connick Jr., and Salman Rushdie – who was infamously attacked and stabbed during his lecture in the summer of 2022.
Chautauqua also hosts several arts programs during the summer. These include a Music Program, incorporating Instrumental, Piano, Opera, and Conducting fellowships; a Theater Company, which produces live theater during the nine-week summer season; and an Arts program that offers residency programs to talented young artists as well as exhibits for visitors to enjoy. It is not unusual to find an itinerant musician playing on a random street corner, music case open in front of them, playing for passers-by. These arts programs offer a variety of concerts, workshops, and other programs throughout the summer that are accessible to short-term visitors.
The summer programming at Chautauqua includes daily lectures at 10:45 AM in the massive Amphitheater. These lectures are organized around a weekly theme, which is structured and announced months in advance. The Department of Religion sponsors a second, related, lecture in the open-air Hall of Philosophy a couple of blocks away from the Amphitheater.
For visitors who want to stimulate their brains while they are on the grounds, there are dozens of classes to choose from – ranging from the arts to history to philosophy to literature. In addition, the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (founded in 1878 and the oldest book club in America), selects at least nine books of literary quality and invites their authors to Chautauqua to present their work before an audience of engaged readers. The literary arts programming at Chautauqua includes activities at the Chautauqua Writers’ Center, writing workshops, and the publication of the literary journal Chautauqua.
The religious roots of Chautauqua are inescapable. There are 12 denominational residential houses on the grounds: Baptist, Catholic, Christian Science, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Episcopal, Chabad-Lubavitch Community (Orthodox Jewish), Lutheran, Presbyterian, the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker), United Church of Christ (UCC), United Methodist, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship(UU). The Everett Jewish Life Center is inclusive of all Branches of Judaism. All Denominational Houses are open to all. Religious organizations (not denominations) at CHQ that offer religious services, programming, and/or housing include the International Order of the King’s Daughters and Sons (IOKDS), Chautauqua Christian Fellowship (CCF), and the Ecumenical Community of Chautauqua (ECOC).
Each of these denominations schedules a series of events throughout the summer, including worship services, concerts, prayer groups, study groups, and counseling services.
There is also ample opportunity for daily exercise at Chautauqua. Its location on the lake provides lots of swimming, boating, and parasailing opportunities. There is a gym on the grounds, so visitors can maintain their regular schedule of workouts. The health facility also contains an indoor pool. The Institution maintains two golf courses and a tennis center.
There is also a Youth Program so that families who visit Chautauqua can find lots of things for their kids to do. There are a variety of age-specific programs tailored to fit the needs of children from the age of 2-10. In addition, the youth program (for middle and high-school kids) runs a Special Studies program of classes in a variety of subjects – computer skills, the arts, and other age-appropriate subjects. This follows the pattern of the adult classes I mentioned above.
Next week I’ll tell you about my history with Chautauqua, and the week after that I’ll tell you about what’s going on during Week 4, 2023 — the week I’ll be there.
I love that you are doing a series on Chautauqua. I’d like you to clarify, however, that the afternoon program in the Hall of Philosophy is programmed through the Department of Religion, exploring (often but not always) a faith related response to the theme of the week.
Also, children’s school is for preschool through kindergarten, age 2.8-5, with a bridge year for rising first graders who attend children’s school in the morning and club in the afternoon. Club is for grades 2-10. It is considered the oldest day camp in the US.
CLSC is the oldest book club in the country.
Excellent, Karen. I’m still hoping to see you there in July.