TIPPICANOE CAMPGROUND
GOSHEN, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03752

THE CROWTHER CHAPEL

Deep within the wooded hills above Lake Sunapee behind the tranquil Dexter's Inn, lies a 10 ft. by 12 ft. chapel. Built in 1934, this chapel is a memorial to John Crowther, a Sunapee boy who died of leukemia at 15 years old. Built on the Dexter's Inn property, which was the home of the Crowthers in the 1920s, the chapel and sur­rounding land was later donated to the Town of Sunapee. Years of neglect have hidden the chapel from all but the most determined searcher.

A short stone wall surrounds the chapel. Mrs. Crowther designed the wall's gate, hand forged by Fisk Ironworks from Warner, NH. In the court­yard itself there are three graves, one for John Crowther and one for each of his parents who were later buried there. The courtyard also features a hand-carved stone bench.

The chapel walls are constructed of stone and feature five beautiful stained glass windows as well as a plaque declaring the site to be a memorial for John Crowther. The beautiful door is made of solid wood and features a brass handle and lock­ing mechanism. The roof is made completely of slate shingles.

The chapel's small interior fea­tures an impressive array of religious artifacts. Four hand-carved kneeling benches created by a local craftsman named Edgar Keene lay before a 100% white Vermont marble altar. Above the altar is a beautiful Tiffany mosaic formerly on display at the Centennial Exposition in 1856 and purchased at the Chicago World's Fair in 1933. On top of the altar lies an old Bible as well as a sanctuary lamp, vases, and candlesticks that came from the Winter Palace of the Czar in Russia, and Hammer Galleries in New York City.

In the Spring of 2002 Genelle Richards, an active member of the Sunapee community and the widow of Dexter Richards, wrote a letter to the Argus Champion describing the deteriorating condition of the chapel. They had owned the inn after the Crowthers (hence "Dexter's Inn"), and Genelle wrote of how she used to retreat to the chapel as her own little solitary sanctuary.

The letter written by Mrs. Richards sparked the interest of Chris Snow, a 16-year-old Boy Scout from Reading, MA. Chris contacted her and offered to help lead the effort with her as his Eagle Scout Project. Throughout the Summer of 2002, Snow worked with Mrs. Richards and suc­cessfully restored the stone bridge leading to the chapel as well as the chapel's slate roof.

Then on September 7th, 2002, Snow, with the essential support of Mrs. Richards, lead a group of more than thirty Boy Scouts, fourteen members of the Sunapee High School National Honor Society, about ten Sunapee Lions Club members, and a few other community members to restore the entire chapel grounds in one day. The operation thoroughly cleaned the chapel interior, more than doubled the width of the grounds' two paths, and removed about fifty trees from the site to open up the area and expose the chapel's stained glass win­dows (whose restoration was organized by Mrs. Richards) to natural light after so many years of darkness.

SooNipi Magazine Summer 2005 Page 56