Butterfield Chapel

 

In June 1964, during a meeting of the school's board of directors, the project for constructing a new chapel at Northwest College was approved. The estimated cost for the project was $100,000. The planned chapel would have a seating capacity of 600. It was also considered that the building would serve for music classes and other activities, including classrooms, offices, study spaces, and rehearsal areas (East Side Journal, 1964, p. 5).

The construction took place where years ago the Steward sisters' house once stood, a place known as Twin Acres. Dr. Millard describes in A Story Behind the Story of Northwest College (1984) how the fervent desire of the Stewart sisters for more young people to come to their house and study the Word of God became a reality with the construction of Butterfield Chapel. During the 1930s, the sisters would host young people in their house each summer to teach them about the Bible. "It seemed that the Stewart sisters had ambitions for their home which went beyond the ordinary. They had a yearning that someday it would have something to do with training young people in the Word of God" (Millard, 1984).

In the chapel building, it was also considered to house the college library. "This level of the building [the basement] will provide fire-proof quarters with over 6,000 square feet of floor space for up to 40,000 volumes and table space for about 125 students at one time. The table space will accommodate a student body of up to 500 students, according to American Library Association standards" (East Side Journal, 1966).

The construction of the chapel concluded in late 1965. The dedication event occurred on January 13, 1966, and was a crowning moment. President C. E. Butterfield led the prayer of dedication, and the glory of God descended upon the scene, eliciting spontaneous praise from the people of God" (Steinberg, 1966).


Additional items about Butterfield Chapel are available in the Archives. Selected items of general interest are listed below.


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