Ellessdie Chapel, State Route 376, .4 mile north of intersection with New Hackensack Road, Wappingers Falls, Dutchess County, NY

Significance: The Ellessdie Chapel is a distinctive example of a private chapel built as part of a Romantic Era Hudson River country seat. It is also extremely rare. Most pious and philanthropic gestures by the region's elite families were more substantial and monumental; nearly all were High Episcopalian, and they were exclusive. Thus, the religious history of the chapel, its Presbyterian denomination and its focus on the local, working class population is a poignant distinguishing feature. Also, the association of its construction with James Lenox confers on the building an architectural significance that bears further investigation and special consideration for preservation. This was no simple country chapel, but a carefully planned part of an extensive designed landscape and humanitarian mission.
Survey number: HABS NY-6333