Near Spring Green in Iowa County, Wisconsin — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Welcome to Unity Chapel
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 8, 2015
1. Unity Chapel NRHP Marker
Inscription.
Welcome to Unity Chapel. .
Unity Chapel Dedicated 1886 has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior , , , , , , , , . In 1844, Richard and Mallie (Mary) Lloyd-Jones and their seven children left rural Wales to seek religious freedom and opportunity in America. Unitarians by belief, farmers by occupation, they endured the hardships of immigration, the loss of one child, and the American births of four more before they settled here, in rural Wyoming Valley, in the mid-1860's.
In time, a subscription was taken to build this small house of worship. Named "Unity Chapel" by the Lloyd-Jones family, this three-room, Shingle-style "cottage church" was completed in 1886. It combined the talents of famed Chicago architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee, and "a boy architect belonging to the family (who) looked after (its) interior." That "boy architect" was Frank Lloyd Wright.
The chapel became a worship center, community meeting house, school and magnet for family and neighbors. Around it stretches the family graveyard.
Many of the sons and daughters of Richard and Mallie became farmers in the surrounding valley. Son Jenkin Lloyd-Jones became a famous Unitarian minister in Chicago. He founded the nearby Tower Hill summer retreat and brought many diverse pastors, rabbis, and monks to preach in this remote rural chapel.
In 1887, sisters Jenny (Jane) and Nell (Ellen) Lloyd-Jones created the Hillside Home School on the site of Richard and Mallie's homestead. Their "boy architect" nephew designed its Home Building, and his "Romeo and Juliet" windmill and "Stone Schoolhouse" still stand today, retaining the "Hillside" name.
In 1974, Unity Chapel was placed on the National Register for Historical [sic - of Historic] Places. It is a magnet for new generations of Lloyd-Joneses, neighbors and friends, whose weddings, funerals, musicales, and summer services continue to bring life to this tiny, historic "cottage church".
Unity Chapel
Dedicated 1886
has been placed on the National Register
of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of the Interior
————————
In 1844, Richard and Mallie (Mary) Lloyd-Jones and their seven children left rural Wales to seek religious freedom and opportunity in America. Unitarians by belief, farmers by occupation, they endured the hardships of immigration, the loss of one child, and the American births of four more before they settled here, in rural Wyoming Valley, in the mid-1860's.
In time, a subscription was taken to build this small house of worship. Named "Unity Chapel" by the Lloyd-Jones family, this three-room, Shingle-style "cottage church" was completed in 1886. It combined the talents of famed Chicago architect Joseph Lyman Silsbee, and "a boy architect belonging to the family (who) looked after (its) interior." That "boy architect" was Frank Lloyd Wright.
The chapel became a worship center, community meeting house, school and magnet for family and neighbors. Around it stretches the family graveyard.
Many of the sons and daughters of Richard and Mallie became farmers in the surrounding valley. Son Jenkin Lloyd-Jones became a famous Unitarian minister in Chicago. He founded the
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nearby Tower Hill summer retreat and brought many diverse pastors, rabbis, and monks to preach in this remote rural chapel.
In 1887, sisters Jenny (Jane) and Nell (Ellen) Lloyd-Jones created the Hillside Home School on the site of Richard and Mallie's homestead. Their "boy architect" nephew designed its Home Building, and his "Romeo and Juliet" windmill and "Stone Schoolhouse" still stand today, retaining the "Hillside" name.
In 1974, Unity Chapel was placed on the National Register for Historical [sic - of Historic] Places. It is a magnet for new generations of Lloyd-Joneses, neighbors and friends, whose weddings, funerals, musicales, and summer services continue to bring life to this tiny, historic "cottage church".
Location. 43° 7.965′ N, 90° 3.684′ W. Marker is near Spring Green, Wisconsin, in Iowa County. Marker is on County Road T, 0.2 miles east of State Highway 23, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Spring Green WI 53588, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Elizabeth Wright Ingraham (within shouting distance of
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 8, 2015
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 8, 2015
4. Unity Chapel NRHP Marker
Inlaid on former carriage step
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 8, 2015
5. Unity Chapel and NRHP Marker
Marker inlaid in former stone carriage step at left foreground
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 8, 2015
6. Unity Chapel Entrance Gate
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 8, 2015
7. Unity Chapel
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 8, 2015
8. Frank Lloyd Wright Grave in Unity Chapel Cemetery
Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., October 8, 2015
9. Frank Lloyd Wright Grave Detail in Unity Chapel Cemetery
Credits. This page was last revised on June 28, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 30, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 613 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on October 30, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. 3. submitted on June 28, 2022, by Larry Gertner of New York, New York. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. submitted on October 30, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
