A glimpse into the Lakeside Assembly
The Lakeside Assembly on Findley Lake was the vision of Dr. Fred Lilley and Rev. F.C. Langdon for people in our area. It had its roots in the Chautauqua movement that was very popular during late 1800's and early 1900's and was the pride of our area for several years.
The Chautauqua Movement was sweeping the US at that time and was started in Chautauqua Co N.Y. The Chautauqua Assembly, was organized in 1874 by Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller at a campsite on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in New York State. It was designed for adult education and cultural purposes in the1800's . A whole circuit of entertainers, speakers, teachers and preachers brought education and entertainment to rural America. President Theodore Roosevelt said "it was the' American thing in America". Thousands of "mini" Chautauqua Assemblies started across the US but only one we know of survives in its entirety and that is the original Chautauqua Assembly now called the Chautauqua Institution at Chautauqua. The rest faded away as more ways came into being to distribute adult education and entertainment to adults and families.
The Lakeside Assembly at Findley Lake was one of the "mini" assemblies that sprung up but later disappeared as demand dropped off and financial reasons forced the closure. It is still an important part of our history. One of the buildings of the Lakeside Assembly came back into our possession after a lot of investigative work and labor on behalf of our Historical society. We are still wrestling with where we can locate it and how we can afford such an endeavor. The rest of the buildings are non existent.
The Chautauqua Movement was sweeping the US at that time and was started in Chautauqua Co N.Y. The Chautauqua Assembly, was organized in 1874 by Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller at a campsite on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in New York State. It was designed for adult education and cultural purposes in the1800's . A whole circuit of entertainers, speakers, teachers and preachers brought education and entertainment to rural America. President Theodore Roosevelt said "it was the' American thing in America". Thousands of "mini" Chautauqua Assemblies started across the US but only one we know of survives in its entirety and that is the original Chautauqua Assembly now called the Chautauqua Institution at Chautauqua. The rest faded away as more ways came into being to distribute adult education and entertainment to adults and families.
The Lakeside Assembly at Findley Lake was one of the "mini" assemblies that sprung up but later disappeared as demand dropped off and financial reasons forced the closure. It is still an important part of our history. One of the buildings of the Lakeside Assembly came back into our possession after a lot of investigative work and labor on behalf of our Historical society. We are still wrestling with where we can locate it and how we can afford such an endeavor. The rest of the buildings are non existent.
We will expand this topic as our website grows