Berry College Chapel
The chapel, commanding the entire central campus area, was designed by architect Harry Carlson of Boston (who also designed the Ford Buildings), was built by students in 1915, and was completed later the same year as Blackstone Dining Hall. It was closely modeled after Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, which was thought to be patterned after St. Paul's Cathedral, the London church designed by the noted 18th century architect Sir Christopher Wren. Originally seating 750, the chapel was expanded in 1927-28 to accommodate 1,100 persons. O. C. Skinner, industrial manager for Berry at the time, called this project the most difficult remodeling job ever undertaken at Berry. The 105-foot chapel tower was rebuilt in 1947-48; steel supports were installed to replace the wooden timbers, and other deteriorating woodwork was replaced. (Bees had stored honey in one of the columns; 47 gallons were salvaged and used in the dining halls.)
The chapel is a gift to the schools from Mrs. Curtiss James, of New York, who gave $50,000 for its construction. The gift was made anonymously, and the marble tablet in the narthex of the building was left blank as a symbol of the donor's desire to remain nameless until 50 years after her death. The chapel was dedicated on March 5, 1916, and since that time, has been the center of campus life in many ways. In the early days, chapel services were held daily as well as on Sundays. Miss Berry, always seated in the front row of the balcony intently following the whole proceeding, was invariably several words or syllables ahead of the rest of the congregation on the Lord's Prayer or the responsive readings.
She began a custom of having the verger ring the bell, which had been especially cast for the Mount Berry Chapel in the tone of B flat, at commencement and at weddings since she wished the chapel to be associated with the happy times in the lives of the students. She particularly loved weddings, and she went to a great deal of trouble to make them memorable. Often she gave the bride away. The first couple married in the Mount Berry Chapel were Henry Grady Hamrick, a 1912 graduate who had just finished his first year as head of the Foundation School at the foot of Lavendar Mountain, and Ethel Edwards, a 1915 graduate of Berry. They were married at 6 p.m. on June 23, 1917; and Miss Berry helped to give them a beautiful wedding.
On Miss Berry's 75th birthday, October 7, 1941, alumni presented the schools with a set of chimes for the chapel. Miss Berry was ill at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta, where she died a few months later. Graduates raised money for the chimes and arranged with an Atlanta music company a few blocks from the hospital to set up an amplifying system so that Miss Berry could hear the chimes before they were delivered to the Schools. At 12 noon the chimes began to play Berry songs for a surprised and delighted Miss Berry.
On the lawn just south of the chapel is the spot where Miss Berry was buried on Sunday, March 1, 1942. She had chosen this site for her grave rather than a more prominent place in front of the chapel because, in the traditional march of students into the chapel, the band stood there. She was afraid that her grave there would cause the students to play more softly than they should. She had chosen also to have only a very simple tombstone placed over her grave, with her name and dates and the motto by which she had lived: "Not to be ministered unto, but to minister." She had always said that "If Berry College and Schools are not enough visible monument, then my life is lost."
Since Miss Berry had particularly loved dogwood, a pink dogwood tree was planted at the head of the grave. The tree was dedicated as part of the 1946 commencement weekend. Judge Eugene Gunby spoke at the ceremony.
In 1966 the Atlanta Gas Light Company bestowed its Shining Light Award upon Miss Berry, and an eternal flame was lighted at her grave. At ceremonies on October 9, 1966 the centennial of Miss Berry's birth the flame was lighted by her niece, Virginia Campbell Courts. A plaque was unveiled, reading in part, "She lighted the flame of learning with a distinctive educational program, and that flame of knowledge continues to burn brightly."
The Mount Berry Chapel later became known as Berry College Chapel to reflect its importance to the college. An interdenominational Christian congregation worships at the Chapel on Sundays and the Berry College chaplain serves as its pastor.
On the north side of the chapel is Mount Berry Cemetery with simple, flush, bronze markers at the graves. The cemetery is maintained through a fund established by a sister of Miss Berry, Mrs. J. Bulow Campbell, for whom the Campbell School of Business at Berry is named. The first person to be buried here was Mrs. Gordon (Frances Olmstead) Keown, who taught in the girls' school before her marriage to Mr. Keown. She died in 1945. Aunt Martha Freeman, Miss Berry's devoted Oak Hill housekeeper, nanny, helper, and friend, was buried in 1951. In February, 1957, the board of trustees established an official policy to govern the cemetery: burial there is limited to those who have served on the staff of the schools for 25 years or more, with 10 of those years having been served during Miss Berry's lifetime.
The chapel was renovated in 1997 by S & W Builders of Rome, Georgia, and Berry College physical plant personnel. Interior renovation included refinishing and padding benches, laying carpet, cleaning and clearing organ pipes, cleaning light fixtures, repairing and repainting pillars, renewing the speaker cover in the central ceiling of the chapel, and refurbishing the ceiling and floors of the back rooms. Exterior work included repair work on the tower and painting it and the exterior sections of wood trim. Alumni made new finials for the steeple tower.
Through the generosity of a Berry graduate, the chapel is being air-conditioned spring 2001.
BERRY COLLEGE | VIRTUAL TOUR | MAIN CAMPUS | REGION I