It was a pleasure speaking at the Fountain Park Chautauqua in Remington, Indiana earlier this week. This permanent Chautauqua was established in 1895 and is one of few Chautauquas in the nation that did not close during the great depression or during the World Wars. My presentation was about the tent or circuit Chautauquas that crisscrossed the country in the early 1900s and how they brought culture to agriCULTURE. There were at least 75 circuit and stationary Chautauquas operating in Indiana between 1907 and 1932.
To get a flavor of what it was like to be at an early Fountain Park Chautauqua I chose to stay at the hotel that was built in 1898. In hasn’t changed much since the early days except for the addition of indoor bathroom facilities. There is no air-conditioning, internet, television, etc. The rooms are pretty much like they were in the beginning. Below are pictures of the hotel and the room I stayed in.
