The Pennsylvania Chautauqua, Mount Gretna, Lebanon County

Important update from my post about Smithfield Church - the fire on Blue Mountain is out! Our entire community is deeply grateful to all of the fire companies who helped to bring the disaster to an impressive end - no one was injured and there was no property damage, apart from several hundred acres of trees. Hopefully it recovers quickly. Meanwhile, additional thanks to everyone who contributed in some way to the relief effort, as our home company was truly overwhelmed by the generosity. Even the visiting representatives from FEMA were astonished by the community response.

I'm still doing my best here to try to get the blogs caught up, but it's a slow process. I keep an awful lot of balls in the air at one time, and then sometimes life randomly tosses in a chainsaw or two. I appreciate the patience and the words of support I've received from many of you!

Kevin and I were at a meeting of my beloved White Rose Irregulars this past Saturday, where I talked for a little while about the family tree of Sherlock Holmes. Public speaking might be the greatest fear of a lot of people, but it honestly doesn't bother me very much at all; I quite enjoy it, even though I'm not overly fond of the sound of my own voice. After the meeting, we detoured off of the road home to collect today's marker - I found the subject so interesting, both visually and historically, that I had to make it the focus of this week's post because I couldn't wait to share it with all of you.

Most likely, the first question that comes to everyone's mind when they hear or see this is, "What is a Chautauqua?" I'm sure it's not hard to guess that the word is Native American in origin; as I've mentioned many times, I grew up in Catasauqua, so I would have thought that the words had similar meanings. They do not. The actual meaning of chautauqua has been lost to time, although there are a number of unsubstantiated rumors giving it various definitions. The most common of these indicates that it comes from the Seneca language and means "bag ties in the middle." No, really. Apparently this is why the name was given to New York state's Chautauqua Lake, which has its narrowest point in the middle as though it had been tied at the waist, so to speak.

Your guess is as good as mine. Anyway, what we do know for sure is that the lake, which is situated in Chautauqua County of New York, is home to the Chautauqua Institution. This was formed in 1874, originally as a place for Methodist Bible School teachers to be trained. It was effectively a meeting camp, but somehow it started becoming more of a public summer school. It offered quality education, but in a manner that was accessible to people of all walks of life rather than only catering to the wealthy. The programs began to expand from religion to also include the arts and sciences, philosophy, literature, and various performances, speeches, and presentations - all in a beautiful natural environment. President Theodore Roosevelt described it as "the most American thing in America." 

Well, before too long the Chautauqua Institution became a popular destination for travelers, with literally millions of people making their way there in the summers to learn and experience things that might otherwise be out of their reach. These pilgrimages led to the Chautauqua Movement, which caused a number of similar educational sites to spring up in locations across the country. They retained the name Chautauqua as an homage to where it all began. Many of them could only be reached by railroad, but the summer camp-like structure made it popular for families as well as individuals. 

At the height of the movement, the United States was home to more than two hundred Chautauquas. Unfortunately, as the 20th century brought new innovations, the rise of the automobile, the radio, and movie theaters increased year-round access to what the Chautauquas offered only in the summertime. Eventually, the majority of them closed their doors. However, there are sixteen Chautauquas which not only still exist but continue to flourish every summer, and one of these is nestled in the woods of Lebanon County. Pictured here is the visitor center, which once served as Mount Gretna's first post office.

The Pennsylvania Chautauqua, as it continues to be known, was established in 1892 in Mount Gretna. This little Victorian community was originally somewhat isolated, being accessible only via the Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad, and had been designed as a summer resort and pleasure destination. The C&L Railroad was owned by Robert H. Coleman, an industrialist and one of the most prominent residents of the Lebanon County region. (Most notably, he was the owner of the Cornwall Iron Furnaces, which have multiple markers and will be covered in a future post. Less notably, he was the great-nephew of Ann Caroline Coleman, who had once been engaged to marry a young James Buchanan.) Because the Chautauqua stood to further benefit his railroad and increase the number of passengers traveling to Mount Gretna, Coleman was only too willing to invest in the plans, and he provided the grounds on which it was to be built. 

Like the original Chautauqua, the Pennsylvania one was built in a beautiful natural spot - in this case, a forest rather than a lakeside, and the trees are a vital part of the facility. Facing the Chautauqua is a row of historic Victorian cottages, each with its own unique history. One is now the home of the Mount Gretna Historical Society, and the one next to it can be rented as a bed and breakfast. Many of the others are available as short-term rental properties; there are some long-term rentals available as well. Sounds to me like an absolutely perfect place to vacation.

The two oldest buildings in the Chautauqua are, as far as anyone knows, the post office-turned-visitor center and the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle building, familiarly known as the CLSC. The spot now occupied by the Hall of Philosophy, seen here, was originally the site of Sarah Tyson Rorer's School of Cookery. After the school was torn down, it was Sarah and the Ladies Auxiliary who raised the funds to build the Hall of Philosophy. The HoP, as it's known, is a large facility which provides space for many of the Chautauqua's lectures, classes, and other programs; on days when it's not needed for any of these, it is available for rental by private individuals.

The Chautauqua operated, and still operates now, on what they call the four pillars of Arts, Education, Religion, and Recreation. As it grew in popularity and more people came to learn, they had to increase the number of buildings. The directional signpost seen here gives an indication of how many facilities the modern Chautauqua offers, ranging from theater to book reviews to worship services to crafting classes and more. Many of these are held in the Hall of Philosophy; many others take place in the Mount Gretna Playhouse, which can be seen at the end of my post, and is shared between Gretna Music, Gretna Theatre, and the Original Mount Gretna Cicada Music Festival. A playground for the kids is open from dawn to dusk year-round; this is called Stacey's Place in memory of Stacey Pennington, who loved children. She used to own a business in the CSLC and her life was tragically taken a number of years ago. The various hiking trails, including one which follows the former tracks of the Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad, are also open all year long. The Mount Gretna Tennis Club, a private organization first established in 1926, uses the Chautauqua tennis courts for its games. And just this year, the Chautauqua celebrated the 50th anniversary of their annual outdoor art show.

Mount Gretna today is no longer a resort, and easily reached by car rather than train. It actually is not a borough unto itself, but rather seven sections which all exist under the umbrella of Mount Gretna - the Chautauqua, Campmeeting, the Heights, Stoerdale, Timber Hills, Timber Bridge, and Conewago Hill. In the words of Sue Hostetter, president of the Mount Gretna Historical Society, it's "sort of like living in NYC with its different sections. We each have our own story. It's complicated."

The Chautauqua remains intact, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The majority of its offerings, including classes, lectures, and performances are open to the public from Memorial Day to Labor Day; this also includes the Mount Gretna Historical Society's museum and the Jigger, the on-site ice cream parlor. However, the Porch and Pantry - a self-described "seasonal scratch kitchen" - does keep hours at other times of the year, so check their website for details. 

For my part, I'll be watching for the release of the 2025 events calendar. Now that I know where to find the Chautauqua, and what it has to offer, I'm looking forward to partaking of "the most American thing in America" next summer, just as generations of people have done for more than a century.

Special thanks to Sue Hostetter of the Mount Gretna Historical Society for helpful additions and corrections to this post.

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Sources and Further Reading:

Official website of the Pennsylvania Chautauqua

Official website of the Mount Gretna Historical Society

The Chautauqua Trail, a guide to the remaining Chautauquas

The Hometown Historian. "History in a Minute: The Pennsylvania Chautauqua." YouTube short, May 24, 2023,

History of the Cornwall and Lebanon Railroad

Crocker, Kathleen, and Jane Currie. Images of America: Chautauqua Institution, 1874-1974. Arcadia Publishing, 2001.

"What Does 'Chautauqua' Mean?" Historical marker, information courtesy of the Fenton History Center, Jamestown, NY.

The Pennsylvania Chautauqua at the Historical Marker Database (not yet published - I had to create the page)

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.