Chautauqua is an Iroquois word that means two moccasins tied together or a bag tied in the middle. It describes the shape of Chautauqua Lake located in western New York. In 1874, on the upper shoreline of the lake, the Chautauqua Lake Sunday School Assembly was formed as an academic resort and educational experiment. As it grew beyond its religious origin, it eventually became the Chautauqua Institution with a much-expanded mission with speakers, performers, music, art, and dance. Eventually it became one of the most popular educational and cultural institutions in America. Its success led to the Chautauqua movement, resulting in “daughter chautauquas” being created around the country.
I was invited this past July to give a talk for Chautauqua Institute which was a huge thrill, since I knew just a bit about Glen Echo having been a Chautauqua Assembly. Once I arrived, it felt surreal to walk through this incredibly picturesque community with well-preserved, fanciful wooden cottages built in the late 19th and early 20th century. Situated on a magnificent lake, with glorious trees, gardens and natural areas, it feels like a place you could only imagine. Each day there are activities like bird walk, lectures, classes, operas, symphonies, art exhibits, visual arts, dance, discussions – it is endless.
In an article in the Chautauquan Daily, documentarian Ken Burns referred to the institution as an embodiment of the “pursuit of happiness.” “Happiness with a capital ‘H’ is about lifelong learning and the improvement of the brain, the heart, the body and the soul throughout one’s lifetime,” “And there is no place on Earth that embodies that rigor and that joy more than Chautauqua Institution.”
The New York Chautauqua provided the inspiration for the creation of Glen Echo’s Chautauqua. In 1888 Edward Baltzey purchased 516 acres on the high land overlooking the Potomac River for $20,000. as a real estate investment with plans for residential housing and a high-end restaurant. He and his brother Edwin formed a real estate company and began selling lots to many prominent Washingtonians, opening the Pa-tow-o-meck Café. Seeing the need for transportation out from the city, they initiated the building of the trolley line to Glen Echo.
Ultimately, the brothers decided to create a chautauqua, calling it Glen Echo on the Potomac. Extensive construction began on cottages, an amphitheater, hall of philosophy, hotel, restaurants, post office and stores. The brothers formally deeded 80 acres of land to the new Chautauqua Association and the National Chautauqua of Glen Echo was incorporated in 1891 for “the purpose of establishing and maintaining an institution of learning to be conducted upon the Chautauqua idea and plan.”
Its first year was a smashing success in all ways. Sadly, one of the teachers became ill and died of pneumonia. Rumors spread that he had died of malaria contracted at Glen Echo because of the mosquitoes. As a result, the public believed that Glen Echo was unsafe. Then, with the depression of 1893, The National Chautauqua of Glen Echo did not survive. The spaces and grounds were rented out for various activities including summer concerts in the amphitheater and used as a meeting space for large gatherings. In the early 1900s the site became Glen Echo Amusement Park.
When I returned to Glen Echo from my week at the Chautauqua Institute, I started thinking more about our history, noticing how the influence of the Chautauqua is all around us. You can see it in the charm of our town and the remaining early cottages, the fabulous Glen Echo Park, the Chautauqua Tower (now connected to the Yellow Barn), an original granite structure – all thanks to our rich history.
This is an extremely abbreviated article in hopes it will inspire more interest in Glen Echo’s unique history as a National Chautauqua and in the original Chautauqua Institution in New York which continues to thrive while honoring its history and continuing to be relevant.
For a much more detailed history please read Glen Echo Park: A Story of Survival, by Richard Cook and Deborah Lange
It is available for purchase at the Glen Echo Park/Partnership Office.
Deborah Lange is one of our residents and her books are listed on her website: http://bcgpub.com/
An excellent online article:
The History of the Glen Echo Chautauqua, by Richard Cook, 1997
Chautauqua Era, Glen Echo
Photo National Park Service
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