The Oahe Mission, founded by Congregationalist minister Thomas L. Riggs and his wife Nina to serve the Dakota Indians in what is now central South Dakota, operated the Oahe Industrial School boarding school from 1884 to 1914 on Peoria Bottom, five miles north of the chapel’s present site. The chapel served both for worship and as a classroom, and the mission also included the Industrial School, the Riggs' home, and several outbuildings. Dakota men, women, and children learned to read the Bible, beginning with the ABC primer, first in Dakota and then in both Dakota and English, before instruction was later given only in English. After the school closed, the chapel continued to be used for worship services and Sunday school. Construction of Oahe Dam created Lake Oahe and flooded Peoria Bottom and the remaining buildings, but the chapel was given to the State of South Dakota during dam construction, moved in 1957 to avoid flooding, and placed at its current location in 1964. The State Historical Society assumed responsibility for its restoration and preservation, and the Oahe Chapel Preservation Society, established in 1984, restored the chapel in 1988 and rehabilitated its windows in 2010.