Goin' To The Chapel Traditional Cache
Chuck Walla: Hello Digcaching,
Geocaching HQ flagged this cache as one that may need attention and sent you an email about it. Some time after that, I disabled your cache and requested that you check on your cache and perform any necessary maintenance. Since you have not responded to my reviewer log about your cache by posting a note to your cache page to tell me and others of your intention to address the issue with it, the cache has been archived at the direction of Geocaching HQ.
Sincerely,
Chuck Walla
Community Volunteer Reviewer
Geocaching.com
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This is one of a series of caches placed to encourage visitors to some of our favorite places in Eureka Springs. The small tube holds a log and small swag. FTF gets a crisp $2 bill. The cache is placed with permission. Please respect the garden areas (you do not have to walk in the planters to find the cache). If there is a function being held at the Chapel please consider returning later.
Gavioli Chapel History
As Eureka Springs was growing, the need for 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.
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.
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. There were no set congregational meetings. The building was 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 musicians who have recorded music here. The church has been featured in the news and has also been used in a film project by a local youth group.
This historic structure is currently experiencing yet another renaissance. In June of 2006, noted preservationists Marty and Elise Roenigk purchased the building and have been 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.
A prominent member of the Church, with his own pew, was Gerald L K Smith, who moved to Eureka Springs in 1964. Smith began construction of a planned religious theme park. Although the park was never fully developed as originally planned, in 1966 the centerpiece, the Christ of the Ozarks statue, was completed, overlooking the town from Magnetic Mountain at an elevation of 1500 feet.
While visiting the Gavioli Chapel take a short walk down Mountain Street and check out Penn Castle. Constructed in the late 1880's by Major W. E. Penn, a prominent Lawyer and evangelical leader of his time. The Castle was also home to Gerald L. K. Smith and is still a lovely home.
Congratulation twocents on the FTF!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va gur pbeare tneqra
Treasures
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