LENOIR, NC (October 25, 2016)…The Chapel of Rest Preservation Society has launched its annual fund drive which provides support to maintain the historic Chapel, cemetery and grounds. Built in 1887 on property donated by Samuel Legerwood Patterson adjacent to his family cemetery in Happy Valley, the Chapel burned in 1916 and was reconstructed in 1917. In 1977, the Chapel was leased to the Chapel of Rest Cemetery Company, and in 1984 the Chapel of Rest Preservation Society was created and acquired lease to the Chapel.
By 2002, the Preservation Society had fully restored the Chapel and had added an architecturally appropriate breezeway and bathroom. The Chapel was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, and a new driveway was created for improved safety in 2008. The Chapel and grounds were purchased by the Preservation Society from the Patterson School Foundation in 2009, and in 2016 the Chapel has been placed under protective covenant with Preservation North Carolina.
The mission of the Society is to preserve the historical integrity of the Chapel and to maintain the building and grounds. Concerts are held in the acoustically perfect sanctuary every spring and fall, and the Chapel hosts a dozen or more weddings every year. Afternoon holiday services are held at Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Eve and Easter Eve, and the Chapel is open daily during daylight hours.
Special projects for the upcoming year are the plantings of historically appropriate native trees which will someday replace the aging oaks, maples and evergreens on the lawn, and the addition of a beautiful columbarium within the cemetery walls. Individual gifts allow the Society to notify donors personally of concerts and other special events. The Chapel of Rest Preservation Society, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, and all gifts are fully tax-deductible. Gifts can be made to the Chapel of Rest Preservation Society, PO Box 997, Lenoir, NC 28645. For more information about the Chapel, please call 828 / 758-0906. www.chapelofrest.org
