An original amphitheater of terraced ground covered with sawdust sloped downward to a covered tabernacle at Hennington Campground, founded in 1872 by the Brookhaven District of the United Methodist Church. In 1892, a Chautauqua Assembly was incorporated on the 74-acre site and remained active until 1917. The Chautauqua movement, established in the late nineteenth century on Lake Chautauqua in western New York, brought entertainment and culture to rural America before the advent of radio and other forms of entertainment. The Chautauqua Tabernacle hosted numerous preachers, speakers, teachers, musicians, entertainers, and specialists of the day, and the first Parent Teachers Association was formed there in 1909. In the 1930's, a Works Progress Administration team constructed stone fences and surrounding walls throughout the park, connected the amphitheater, and carried out other improvements including work on the lake's spillway. More recently, a visiting AmeriCorps team and the local Job Corps Center completed additional upgrades and restoration projects.