{"nrhp_refnum":"12000478","name":"Big Moose Community Chapel","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1544 Big Moose Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Eagle Bay","county":"Herkimer County","state":"NY","lat":43.819650108000076,"lon":-74.87826860999996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-08-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A granite chapel built in 1931 on the shore of Big Moose Lake near Eagle Bay, Herkimer County, New York, designed and built by Earl Covey. It combines Gothic Revival forms with Adirondack rustic construction.","why_significant":"The chapel is presented as an exceptionally intact example of religious architecture and the work of Adirondack master builder Earl Covey, blending Gothic Revival exterior forms with an Adirondack Camp interior. It is also significant in social history as a locally funded effort to give the Big Moose Lake community its own church.","narrative":"Big Moose Community Chapel sits on a rise above the shore of Big Moose Lake in the central Adirondacks, surrounded by cedar, balsam and spruce. Completed in 1931, it is built of pinkish, quarry-faced local granite with buttresses, pointed-arch windows, a crenellated square belfry and a copper roof. Inside, varnished yellow birch walls, peeled spruce log trusses, hand-forged iron fixtures and a massive stone fireplace reflect Adirondack camp craftsmanship. Local builder Earl Covey, known for camps around Big Moose, Fourth and Twitchell Lakes, designed and built it, blending Gothic parish church ideas with rustic Adirondack principles of fitting a building into its landscape. The chapel also matters as a community effort: residents supplied the money, furniture and fittings, and raised funds again after the first building burned before opening. A small 1952 shed near the shoreline is the only other building on the property.","period_of_significance":"1928-1931","architect_builder":"Earl Covey","architectural_style":"Late Gothic Revival; Adirondack","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a seasonal, non-denominational chapel; historic and current function listed as religious facility.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.008324-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/12000478.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000478/78f2c3bbdc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/12000478/78f2c3bbdc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"BurrRose","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_Moose_Community_Chapel_-_welcome_to_all,_with_open_doors.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">BurrRose</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Big_Moose_Community_Chapel_-_welcome_to_all,_with_open_doors.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"93001451","name":"New York Central Railroad Adirondack Division Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/new-york/new-york-central-railroad-adirondack-division-historic-district-93001451/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318106","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Moose_Community_Chapel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23035330"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/herkimer-county/big-moose-community-chapel-12000478/"}