Photo Courtesy of Ann Brown

Smith’s Chapel was built in 1840 in Milton Township, Cass County, Michigan. It was added to the Michigan Historical Registry in 1979 and added to the National Historical Registry in 1987.

Smith’s Chapel

29858 Redfield Rd

Niles, MI 49120

Smith’s Chapel History by Otis Montgomery

Photographs:

Chapel Photos

Historical Plaque Photos

Photos of Canon and Charlotte Smith’s Headstones

Contact Information:

Smith Chapel Historical Association

Ann Brown

269-663-8423 (home)

269-932-5242 (cell)

abrown3063@aol.com

Smith’s Chapel Cemetery Association

Ila Rosselit

269-663-2948

The following information was obtained from the Michigan.gov website:

Smith's Chapel and Cemetery

Location Redfield Road between Brush and Fir roads, Milton Township - Cass County, Michigan

Property Type Church

Historic Use RELIGION/religious facility

Current Use RELIGION

Style Late Victorian

Architect/Builder William S. Beswick

Significant Person Cannon Smith

Narrative Description

The Smith's Chapel property includes both a one-story, gable-roofed, wood frame chapel covered with clapboard siding and a four-and-one-half-acre cemetery. The chapel features a gabled entrance with a transom surmounted by an oculus in front. Round-arch windows with wooden hood molds light the sanctuary. The chapel stands on a rubble fieldstone foundation. A gable-roof, clapboard-sided privy is located at the rear of the church. The cemetery contains stone (and one zinc) monuments. The grounds are partially contained within a modern chain-link fence.

Statement of Significance

Smith's Chapel is the oldest known church building in Cass County, and probably also the oldest in southwest Michigan. Built in 1840 by settlers on Beardsley's Prairie in what became Milton Township, the chapel is the most visible product of an early colonization of the area by settlers from Delaware. The work of Methodist circuit preachers lead to the organization of a church on July 1, 1839. Cannon and Charlotte Smith, formerly of Delaware, sold the land and donated liberally to build the chapel which was named in their honor. In 1879, contractor W. S. Beswick was hired to remodel and modernize the church. The adjoining cemetery grounds were purchased in 1872 and many remains and monuments of early settlers, including those of the Smiths, moved from family plots to this ground. The chapel is no longer used for regular worship, but is occasionally the site of weddings and funerals.

Marker Name Smith's Chapel

Marker Text SMITH'S CHAPEL The first Methodist church in Milton Township was organized in 1839. The following year, this church was built and named Smith's Chapel to honor Cannon Smith, who had contributed generously to the construction of the church. Smith, a native of Delaware, bought land here in 1829 and settled on it in 1831. The chapel is one of the oldest Methodist churches in southwestern Michigan. In 1967 regular church services were discontinued. Milton Township purchased the structure in 1972. It now serves as a wedding and funeral chapel.

Period of Significance 1826-1865

Significant Date(s) 1840, 1879

Registry Type(s) 04/07/1981 Marker erected

12/31/1987 National Register listed

04/24/1979 State Register listed

Site ID# P22790