Harvard Square on the Harvard University Campus in Cambridge in Middlesex County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)
Appleton Chapel
Photographed by R.J. OHara, June 16, 2025
1. Appleton Chapel Marker
On the site of this church
Appleton Chapel
stood for seventy three years
The University has preserved
the name here in the choir
Erected by Harvard University.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Religion & Religious Structures. A significant historical year for this entry is 1931.
Location. 42° 22.49′ N, 71° 6.939′ W. Marker is in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in Middlesex County. It is in Harvard Square on the Harvard University Campus. It can be reached from Harvard Yard. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Harvard Yard, Cambridge MA 02138, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Greater Boston. It is also in the American Northeast and in New England. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Baptism of John Harvard (within shouting
this page online
More about this marker. The marker is on the east outer wall of the Memorial Church in Harvard Yard, on the Harvard University campus.
Regarding Appleton Chapel. Harvard University's Memorial Church was built in 1932 as a memorial to the members of the university who had died in World War I. It replaced the much smaller Appleton Chapel, the university's former church, and was built on the same site. The east section of the Memorial Church was designated "Appleton Chapel" in memory of the former church building.
The original Appleton Chapel was named for Samuel Appleton (17661853), the New England merchant and philanthropist who gave the money for its construction.
Also see . . . Samuel Appleton (17661853).
Photographed by R.J. OHara, June 16, 2025
2. Appleton Chapel Marker
Appleton Chapel marker on the east end of the present-day Memorial Church in Harvard Yard.
"Samuel Appleton (June 22, 1766 July 12, 1853) was an American merchant and philanthropist, active in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Great Britain.... After retirement [in 1823], he devoted much of his fortune to charity, including his gift funding the Appleton Cabinet at Amherst College, built to house the Hitchcock Ichnological Cabinet, and the Appleton Chapel at Harvard University. He endowed the academy at New Ipswich with a fund which secured its permanence, and founded the professorship of natural philosophy of Dartmouth College, with a gift of $10,000."(Submitted on July 14, 2025, by R.J. OHara of Fitchburg, Massachusetts.)
Photographed by R.J. OHara, June 16, 2025
3. Appleton Chapel Marker
Appleton Chapel marker on the east end of the present-day Memorial Church in Harvard Yard.
Photographed by Hugh C. Leighton Co., Manufacturers, Portland, ME. (courtesy Univ. of South Carolina University), circa 1910
4. Appleton Chapel, Harvard College
Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 13, 2025, by R.J. OHara of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. This page has been viewed 166 times since then and 55 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 13, 2025, by R.J. OHara of Fitchburg, Massachusetts. 4. submitted on July 22, 2025. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
