A Sweet Little Chapel: Kelley Chapel, a Cape Cod Wedding Site

Kelley Chapel in Yarmouth Port is just about the most darling little wedding chapel you'll find.  Down a secluded gravel path. Set in a sunlit meadow. Nestled in the woods. Surrounded by nature trails. With a charming little history.

The chapel was originally constructed in 1873 by Quaker David Kelley for his daughter Rosa after the death of her infant son. She used the non-sectarian chapel, which at the time was located in South Yarmouth near the Quaker Meeting House on North Main Street, to teach bible lessons to village fishermen and their families. The chapel was donated by a Kelley family descendent to the Historical Society of Old Yarmouth in 1960, at which time it was moved to its current location. The woods surrounding the chapel comprised the first-ever golf course on Cape Cod, created in the 1890s for private use by the Thatcher family. It's a short walk from the chapel to the heart of historic Yarmouth Port, including the Edward Gorey House and the Capt. Bangs Hallett house, which has the most amazing English Weeping Beech tree on the grounds.

Today the chapel is used for community events and can be rented through the historical society for weddings.

{ Christopher Setturland via Cape Cod Today }

Make no mistake, it is tiny. Only 60 or so people fit inside. In typical Quaker fashion, the interior is unadorned. A handful of pews, an old wood stove and a little organ dominate the space.

But there's something completely enchanting about it, don't you think?