Eureka Springs Weddings Chapel Gavioli Chapel History

As Eureka Springs was growing quickly, the need of churches arrived with the newcomers and several were built around town. Tents and shacks were going up quickly and buildings were being built just as fast. In 1879, a City Improvement Company had been formed, and that company submitted to Mr. Shadrach Turner, a trustee of the already organized Christian Church, a plot of ground across from what was then the Red Brick Schoolhouse on Prospect Avenue. Soon a small frame building was erected and painted white, and became known as the "Little White Church", its formal name being the First Christian Church of Eureka Springs

During the period between the establishment of the Church and the creation of official records there is little information available except for the Church Roll of FCC. This roll showed a membership of 204, which probably necessitated the remodeling of the building in 1912.

The following is a quote from a letter written by Ruth Nichols about the division in the church and the fire that destroyed the building,

"We returned to Eureka Springs in 1932 after having been in Kansas City for five years, and during that time the Church had divided, and some of the people had bought the Old Calvary Baptist Church building (the present one) and were calling themselves the Mountain Street Church. Soon after the division, the First Christian Church across from the Red Brick Schoolhouse burned in one of the worst fires Eureka Springs has ever known. It started in the Thatch Hotel, a building of forty rooms, at the corner of Prospect/Ridgeway Avenue. It then spread across Ridgeway, burned a three-story apartment building, and two homes, then leveled the church building besides a lot of damage to nearby houses. It was a cold windy day, all that could be saved was the antique organ, the pulpit and chairs and very few records. The Church was covered by insurance and Reverend Strickler was the minister, so the two Churches united and by the mutual agreement called the Church "The Church of Christ". The insurance money was allied on the mortgage debt and the Church was once again."

According to the minutes from April 15, 1932, the church membership now numbered 92. By this time the depression was well underway, and the church had its share of hardships along with everyone else. Members were urged to pay in pledges to help with expenses and debts. The pledges ranged from five cents to two dollars per week and collections were unbelievably low. The following information is taken from church meeting minutes:

"$2.00 was paid for coal (no weight mentioned), $3.00 for wood and $4.50 per month for janitor work. One minister was paid the collection of $5.85 for preaching on Sunday morning and was given $10.36 in groceries."

As quoted from the minutes of a congregational meeting,

"In view of the fact that the membership pledges fall short of the agreed salary, the minister must be given notice that at the termination of the month, the congregation can no longer pay the stipulated price of $12.50 per month."

The pledges for that month were $9.50 total.

On November 6 th , 1938, a special meeting of the entire Church was called and the name of the Church changed again, back to the First Christian Church. In 1999, the First Christian Church sold the building to a private owner, a family who tried to preserve it as a Church as well as a historical site. At the moment there are no set congregational meetings. The building is being used mostly for weddings and other religious events, such as baptisms and memorial services under the name of The Old Stone Church.

With the buildings natural acoustics, there have been several local musical artists who have recorded their music here. The church has been featured in the news and has also been used in a film project by a local youth group.

But this historic structure is currently experiencing yet another renaissance. In June of 2006, noted preservationists Marty and Elise Roenigk purchased the building and have begun using it not only as a wedding chapel but also as a museum for special pieces of their world-renowned mechanical music collection. One such piece is their Gavioli Fairground Organ that has 59 keys, 210 pipes, is 15 feet wide and 11 feet tall. This ornate mechanical "orchestra" that plays everything from festive turn-of-the-century dance tunes to sweet, melodic traditional wedding songs will be the interior focal point of the chapel. The organ is so spectacular that the Roenigks have even renamed the historic structure Gavioli Chapel.

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