The history of the Ponus Ridge Chapel begins in 1902 when a group from the Ponus Ridge area began to hold church services and a Sunday school in a butcher shop on Davenport Ridge.
In 1907, the group formally organized as the Ponus Street Union Chapel, a non-denominational Christian group. In their first meeting, a building committee was created to find land and build a dedicated meeting space. Both Levi S. Weed and Charles E. Hubbell sold a part of their land to the committee for $1. In total the parcel was 25′ by 100′. The chapel itself was designed by Charles E. Hubbell and Charles A. Luckhurst both Ponus Ridge residents and architects. The stone came from local farms, predominantly from the Thurton farm across the street.
Two hundred people attended the chapel dedication on September 10, 1911. It quickly became the center of the community for the area. Six weddings and a funeral were held in the chapel in its first forty years. Many local fairs were hosted from the chapel. One such fair was centered around the dedication of a bell for the chapel. Edward Lawerence married Fanny Davenport and so to replace the “belle” that he was taking from the ridge, he gave the chapel a bell in return. During WWI, the chapel was used by the Ladies’ Aid Society for what is described as “Red Cross work.” This group of women is most likely the group depicted in the picture above. By the 1930s, activities in the chapel had slowed down.
