Chautauqua (/ ʃəˈtɔːkwə / shə-TAW-kwə) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s.

“Chautauqua” was a cultural and social movement that started in upstate New York in the 1870s and flourished until the mid 1920s. During this time, hundreds of touring chautauquas presented lectures, dance, music, drama, and other forms of “cultural enrichment”. In rural America, big tents served as temporary theaters for these productions.

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At their peak, Tent Chautauquas appeared in over 10,000 communities and preformed for more than 45 million people. A Tent Chautauqua regularly came to Greenville, SC and set up its distinctive brown tents in City Park (now McPherson Park).

assemblies, travelling circuits or “tent Chautauquas” sprang up and continued until the early 1930s. The Chautauqua idea currently thrives at Chautauqua Institution in New York and at its surviving “independents” around the country.

The cottages at Chautauqua, many built by John Blanchard in the Craftsman style, were constructed beginning in 1899 to replace the unsatisfactory tents of the first season. Originally used only by summer residents, the cottages are now winterized for year round use and comfort.

Jan 31, 2024 · Circuit or “tent” Chautauquas had their genesis in the Lyceum movement, which started in Massachusetts as early as 1826. After adopting much of the Lyceum format, the Circuit Chautauqua experience became noted for stimulating thought and discussion on significant political, social, and cultural issues of the day.

By 1900 there were hundreds of “tent” chautauquas and nearly 150 independent chautauquas with permanent lecture halls, many of which continued the tradition of the lyceum movement.

The Chautauqua movement began at Lake Chautauqua, New York in 1874 as a summer retreat for the training of Sunday School teachers. From the first year onward the Chautauqua idea was all-denominational and blended study and recreation in a pastoral setting.

Tent Chautauqua flourished in the United States for more than 20 years, and in the Manning area from the summer of 1916 through the summer of 1924. It covered a period roughly synonymous with that of the Model T Ford.