The Catherine Nellis Memorial Chapel Fort Plain Cemetery

 

In 1864, The Fort Plain Cemetery Association was organized and subsequently took over from the village the plot of land bordered by Clyde Street (once known as Cemetery Street). Thirty five years later the legislature of the State of New York passed a special act providing for an accumulation of a Perpetual Care Fund from which the income would be used for the care and preservation of the cemetery grounds and property. In 1889 Cemetery Superintendent William Rapp took charge of the grounds and greatly improved the cemetery making it one of the most successful institutions in Central New York.

The Cemetery Association Board had long felt the need of a chapel to complete the usefulness of the cemetery but the funds for such a project were beyond the associations ability to pay for it. In 1906 Mrs. Henry Harper Benedict proposed erecting a chapel in memory of her mother, Mrs. Catherine Nellis. In addition, Mrs. Benedict also had a fervent desire to do something that might benefit the people and the village of Fort Plain where she spent her childhood and early womanhood. Mrs. Benedict offered $12,000 for the building of the structure and in addition, proposed paying for the furniture and fixtures in the chapel. The architect who designed the building and drew up the plans and specifications was Mr. Frederick H. Gouge of Utica, NY (architect of many of the buildings and churches in Utica).

 

The chapel, completed in 1907, was built of Indiana Limestone with a terra cotta roof. The building housed a chapel room with seating for at least 55 persons. Electric lights, running water, a bathroom facility, an office and a vault for holding the deceased over the winter months were also included in the structure. According to Henry Harper Benedict it was Mrs. Benedict’s wish that “the chapel be free from ostentation, but solid and enduring and that into it are built the tender memories of birthplace and home, the fond associations of kindred and friends, the sense of duty to the living and respect for the dead, the filial reverence of a daughter for a mother whose life was one of consecration, who knew no joy but in faithful service, and the memory of whose works will never fade from the minds who knew her.”

 

The presentation and dedication of the Catherine Nellis Memorial Chapel took place on December 4, 1907. The following people participated in the program: the Reverend W.G. James, the Reverend J.L. Holah, Mr. Andrew Dunn, Association President, presentation of the chapel by Mr. H.H. Benedict (husband of Maria Nellis Benedict), acceptance of the Chapel by Dr. Douglas Ayers, addresses by M.A. Baker, Reverend G.K Statham, Reverend L.J Richards, Reverend H.C. Willoughby, and the Benediction by Reverend John Wittekind. During the dedication, Mr. M.A. Baker presented Association President Dunn a casket carriage for use in the chapel.

 

The Catherine Nellis Memorial Chapel until recent years held many services for the families of their deceased loved ones. In 1990, Mr. Edward Richards of Fort Plain provided the funds to refurbish the interior and in the last five years the terra cotta roof was replaced with asbestos shingles. In 2018 with a grant from the Adam & Nellie Horn Foundation, all the interior repainting was completed.