Chapel

Fort Hays acquired a chapel in 1872 that had been moved from the recently abandoned Fort Harker, 60 miles to the east. Officers' wives had wanted a dance hall, but army regulations prohibited using military labor and resources to build one, while no such restriction applied to chapels. As a result, they secured a dance hall in the guise of a chapel. Of the building's 105-foot length, 25 feet were partitioned off for worship and also used as the post school, furnished with a few benches and a small pulpit. The remaining 80-foot space was used for dancing, theatricals, and other amusements and was more elaborately furnished. In 1878, high winds made the building unsafe, and it was torn down.

Kansas · United States