The Christ Chapel Historical Society was founded to relocate, restore, and operate the historical St. Michael's Church (renamed Christ Chapel) in Boise, Idaho. It was incorporated in 1963 when the members of St. Michael's Episcopal Parish indicated they could no longer maintain the historic chapel. The Sons and Daughters of Idaho Pioneers, a relatively small organization, undertook to relocate the chapel to the campus of Boise Junior College. The Christ Chapel Historical Society was formed with representatives from St. Michael's Parish, Boise Junior College, and the Sons and Daughters of Idaho Pioneers on the permanent board. Incorporation was finalized on April 24, 1963. The first permanent board members were William B. Spofford, Jr. (St. Michael's Parish), Pearl M. Koontz (Sons and Daughters of Idaho Pioneers), and Eugene B. Chaffee (Boise Junior College).
Christ Chapel is the oldest Protestant church building in Idaho, Montana and Utah. The first services were held in this building on September 1, 1866, by the Rev. St. Michael Fackler. The congregation named the chapel in his honor. The wooden frame structure served as the principal Episcopal place of worship in Boise, at Seventh and Bannock Streets, until the dedication of St. Michael's Cathedral in 1902. At that time the church building was renamed Christ Church and moved to Boise's North End, where it served as a local chapel. It was moved to its present location on the Boise State University campus in 1963. The chapel was deconsecrated and rededicated on May 17, 1964. Since then its principal use has been for weddings. In 2008, its use is administered by Boise State University's Facilities Operations and Maintenance Department.
The records of the Christ Chapel Historical Society, separated from material donated by Mrs. Eugene B. Chaffee in 1988, document the development and function of this organization from 1963-1984 with the bulk of material dating between 1963 and 1981. These papers contain the Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, organizational records, a brief history of the building, scattered correspondence, as well as financial records of the relocation and restoration. Eugene B. Chaffee served as President, William B. Spofford, Jr., Vice-President and Pearl M. Koontz as Secretary-Treasurer. Much of the material contained in this collection is correspondence between Dr. Chaffee and Mrs. Koontz, and/or Mrs. Koontz's financial records. The papers also include the records of maintenance and use of the Christ Chapel and of the contributions from prominent members of the community and charitable foundations including James L. Brown, the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, the Margaret Cobb Ailshie Trust, the C.C. and Henrietta W. Anderson Foundation.
Collection is available for research.
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Eugene B. Chaffee, Boise, Idaho, 1988.
Since the relocation of the Christ Chapel the primary use has been weddings; several folders of applications for use and letters of confirmation to area clergy are included but do not provide a complete record of weddings held in the chapel. Routine utility bills, bank statements, and duplicates were discarded. The one item in the collection dated before 1963 is a photocopy of the newspaper article describing St. Michael Fackler's first sermon in the new church building (1866) (in Box 1, Folder 3).
See also the
[item description], Christ Chapel Historical Society Records, Box [number] Folder [number], Boise State University Special Collections and Archives.