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A Celebration of the Church on Chebeague, 1855-2005
One hundred and fifty years
ago the trustees of the Chebeague Episcopal Church voted to build a new
sanctuary to replace their small meeting house that had been erected in the
early part of the nineteenth century. Fewer than 140 people lived on Great Chebeague
Island when the original
meetinghouse was built near, what is now, the oldest section of the Chebeague Cemetery. The community prospered
economically at this time as Chebeague Stone Sloops sailed the Eastern
Seaboard carrying rock to construct wharves, breakwaters, lighthouses and
forts. The houses that islanders built during this period reflects the
Greek Revival style. Many of the original architectural details of the 1855
church were similar to those on the Elijah Kellogg
Church still standing
in Harpswell. When the Methodist Episcopal Church was renovated in the
early 1890s the steeple was redesigned, and it lost some of its original
Greek grandeur.
The Church on Chebeague has been the anchor of this community for
generations. It is a place where all are welcome regardless of religious
persuasion. It is the place where we often celebrate the birth of a new
baby or to mourn the loss of a neighbor. Chebeague Island
High School graduations
were once held in the Church and Memorial Day services are still held
there.
Other organized religions have also had a significant presence on
Chebeague. In the 1860s three churches ministered to the island's spiritual
needs at the same time. Catholic and Nazarene chapels were located on the North Road
during the first half of the twentieth century.
During the nineteenth century spiritualists, evangelists, and genuine
conmen frequented the island preaching "the Word." Some islanders
sold all of their worldly possessions to answer one evangelist's cultish
call, while a group of Westenders collected money to build a church near
Coleman's Cove only to have the "minister," abscond with the
funds!
The rusticators who arrived on the island during the late nineteenth
century were welcomed into the Church regardless of their religious
affiliation. Sunday evening services were held at the Hamilton and Hillcrest Hotels. The
Hillcrest also hosted the summer Ladies Aid Fair from time to time.
The history of the Church on Chebeague is also the history of the people of
the island, such as the Ladies Aid members and many others, who continue to
work together to preserve the sanctuary and to perpetuate the good works
that have been so important to the development of this community.
While we celebrate the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the present
sanctuary, we honor all of the generations who have gone before us who
worked to ensure that our community would always have a spiritual center.
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