Hayt's Chapel and Schoolhouse

Hayt's Chapel and Schoolhouse consists of a historic church and a historic school building located at Ithaca in Tompkins County, New York. The chapel is a small rectangular frame gable roofed structure constructed in 1847 and measuring approximately 20 feet by 40 feet. The structure features a number of Gothic Revival details. There is a small entrance vestibule added sometime in the 1930s or 1940s when the building was converted for school use.

Hayt's Chapel and Schoolhouse
Hayt's Chapel and Schoolhouse is located in New York
Hayt's Chapel and Schoolhouse
Hayt's Chapel and Schoolhouse is located in the United States
Hayt's Chapel and Schoolhouse
Location1296-1298 Trumansburg Rd., Ithaca, New York
Coordinates42°28′8″N 76°32′43″W / 42.46889°N 76.54528°W / 42.46889; -76.54528
Area0.6 acres (0.24 ha)
Built1850
ArchitectHayt, Charles
Architectural styleGreek Revival, Gothic Revival
MPSFreedom Trail, Abolitionism, and African American Life in Central New York MPS
NRHP reference No.05001453[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 22, 2005

In 1996, the Town of Ithaca honored the location with a historic marker.[2] The buildings were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[1]

Chapel

edit

Passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 split members of Ithaca's Presbyterian congregation (located next to DeWitt Park).[2] The church's Rev. Dr. William Wisner was strongly pro-slavery, and a number of anti-slavery church members split with the congregation to establish their own church.[2] This group, headed by prominent abolitionist Charles Hayt, along with Murdock Halsey and others, set up a small gothic church on land donated by Hayt.[2]

Hayt's Chapel was referred to as the "Abolition Church" and was thought to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad, which roughly followed the western shore of Cayuga Lake along route 96. Abolitionist meetings were held in the schoolhouse and chapel.[2]

Schoolhouse

edit

Hayt's Schoolhouse was built prior to the church, in the 1830s and is a one-story frame T-shaped building in the Greek Revival style. The one-room school remained in use until 1964 and has since been converted to an apartment.[3] The schoolhouse retains features such as its blackboard and flagpole.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Grippi, Rosalind and Salvatore (March 1, 2006). "Historic Presence". Ithaca.com. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original (Searchable database) on April 4, 2019. Retrieved May 1, 2016. Note: This includes Anthony Opalka (n.d.). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Hayt's Corners Chapel and Schoolhouse" (PDF). Retrieved May 1, 2016. and Accompanying 12 photographs