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Invest in your community: This week, Givebutter, the fundraising platform we use, is donating $10 for every new monthly supporter of the North Clarendon Chapel renovation and repurposing.

Use the donate button on Clarendon Heritage to see suggested monthly support levels. Support levels include Preservation Friend ($10), Community Steward ($25), and more

Other options:

Make a memorial Gift to restore a window. ($2500)

Buy a brick painted by local School youngster. $100. These will pave the walkway to the museum.

May 1st, 2026.

We are applying for a Cultural Facilities grant from the Vermont Arts Council. Letters from individuals and organizations expressing support for the plan to restore and repurpose the chapel into a community center will help our application. The letters do not have to be long, but please send them to me before the May 15 deadline.

https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/grants/find-a-grant/organizations/cultural-facilities

Hi, spring is right around the corner. It has been a busy first couple of months. I am helping the CorpWell Foundation’s new executive director, Donna Price, develop a fundraising strategy for restoring and repurposing the chapel. We applied for a 1772 Foundation Grant and are working on other grant applications.

One of my first priorities is to read as much as possible about the history of the North Clarendon Chapel. The Historical Society of Clarendon has an abundance of photos and documents on their website that illuminate the town’s history. The church history section includes several entries about the chapel’s history. In 2017, Joan Bixby posted the cover of the 1980 town report to the society’s website, along with a short history of the chapel that appeared in the report. The cover features a drawing of the chapel by Marilyn Verna Candish (copied below). I asked historical society president Bob Underhill if he remembers Marilyn Verna Candish. He does not, but perhaps other people in the Clarendon area do recall her.

I look forward to attending the historical society’s April meeting to meet Bob in person. He has been very helpful these first couple of months in answering questions over email. Bob is going to lend me a copy of the 1913 book History of Baptists of Vermont so I can take a deep dive into the larger history behind the chapel.

Here on my West Haven Farm, I’ve started Rudbeckia and other flowers. I plan to plant some in front of the chapel, adding to the tulips and grape hyacinth Ellen Whooley planted in 2024. If anyone is interested in helping Ellen and me expand the plantings around the chapel, please reach out.

Scott

3-5 PM

at North Clarendon Chapel

On this date Clarendon Heritage (CH) will presents to the Town of Clarendon again the plans for repurposing Chapel 1871 or the North Clarendon Chapel.

dThe community want to create a Citizen Cultural and Social Club since the chapel had been used as such during the early 1900 according to Steven Sorel. This is in great demand as people choose to Stay at Home to age. The weight to the family can be overwhelming and this would offer the opportunity to members of the community to have a place to meet regularly with supervision.

It would follow a known model of Oasis.

In order to achieve this goal, Corpwell Foundation, in charge of Clarendon Heritage, is asking on behalf of the community for acceptance of the plan and if accepted request from the town to cover some of the cost of repurposing the building to move ahead as the community is in urgent need of this service for it’s citizen.

To review past years progress or subscribe for News: Chapel1871.org