1900's

Assembly Park History

Click on the photo to see larger view.

1900
1900's
• The Chicago Art Institute held summer classes, in Delavan, for 15 years. A few of the famous artists included William T. Thorne, Adolph and Ada Schulz, Frank Dudley and Frank Phoenix. Delavan became a recognized art center.
1901
July 24-August 4th
• Summer event booklet.

• By 1901, the Assembly programs were known throughout the Midwest for their outstanding 10-day sessions.

1902
July 30th - August 10th
• Delavan Lake Assembly Summer Outing was held - bring your own tents!

• Tents provided lodging during the first years on Assembly grounds. They could be rented or you could bring your own. There were so many tents the first years that the event was referred to in newspaper articles as "The White City."

1903

• Bird's eye view of the Park - How the park looked about 1903 when it was said that there were about fifty cottages. The auditorium, dining hall and water tower were at the top of the park. There was a path that ran along the shore and a road a little further in. That small building at the beginning of the longer pier may have been the first gazebo and can be seen in other pictures of the shoreline.

• Cottage owners objected to plans to build a barn to house the horses of people attending the Chautauquas. They thought the stench of the manure would be overpowering.

• Delavan Lake Assembly Association, sold lots by 1903 over 50 cottages had been erected.

World Events

Presidents

• William McKinley • Theodore Roosevelt • William H. Taft

1900

• Hawaii becomes an official U.S. territory.

1901

September 6th
• Assassination of William McKinley. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt assumes office
December 12th
• Guglielmo Marconi receives the first trans-Atlantic radio signal.

1902

May 20th
• Cuba given independence by the United States.
July 17th
• Willis Carrier invents the first modern electrical air conditioning unit.

1903

December 17th
• First controlled heavier-than-air flight of the Wright Brothers.

1904

May
• U.S. begins construction of the Panama Canal and eradication of yellow fever.

1905

September 26th
• Albert Einstein's formulation of special relativity.

1906

April 18th
• An earthquake in San Francisco, California, magnitude 7.9, kills 3,000.

1907

July 24th
• Japan–Korea Treaty of 1907.

1908

October 1st
• The Ford Motor Company invents the Model T.

1909

April 6th
• Robert E. Peary claims to have reached the North Pole though the claim is subsequently heavily contested.
1904

• The roof on this very old version of the gazebo seems to be the same as that on the gazebo that was replaced.

• Perhaps what appears to be walls were actually curtains and it was used for a changing room.

• Then at some time this gazebo was moved back from the shoreline to the current gazebo location.

• Date photo unknown.
• In 1904, William Jennings Bryant was featured and spoke to a crowd of 4,000.

• A very large sign like this was used to show the way to the Delavan Lake Assembly.
• Two-week sessions were held in late July and early August.

• Chautauqua programs were held in the 3,500-seat Assembly auditorium between 1898 and 1914.

1905
1906

• The Snyder/Bestul family has resided here from the beginning. The above photo was of the house built in 1906 at 1119 N. Gazebo. (unknown date)

1907
1908
1909
1909
• Electricity came to the park.