Chautauqua Pennant   Save
Ohio History Connection
Description: The flag reads: "We are Chautauqua Boosters". It is a triangular flag made of oil cloth and measures 84 by 45 cm. For 50 years Chautauqua tent circuits captivated rural towns in the East and Midwest. At its height (1924) an estimated 30,000,000 Americans attended dramas, lectures, music, operas, orchestras and other cultural events. A minister, John H. Vincent, of Camptown, New Jersey created the movement by organizing outdoor bible study with visual cues to bring his community together. In 1874 He recruited Lewis Miller to oversee a short summer school in Akron, Ohio. The summer appointments grew in size and quality over the years, bringing otherwise unattainable high culture and learning to rural folk. Several off-shoots expanded Vincent's idea in search of profit. the Ellison-White brown tents brought the Chautauqua west of the Rocky Mountains. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: H65536_001
Subjects: Ceremonial artifact; Communication artifact; Revival; Rural America; Pennant; Textile--oil cloth;
Places: Akron (Ohio); Summit County (Ohio)