Chautauqua Pavilion (Riverton, Iowa)

Chautauqua Pavilion
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	City Park Riverton, Iowa
Coordinates	40°40′55″N95°34′09″W / 40.68194°N 95.56917°W / 40.68194; -95.56917
Area	less than one acre
Built	1897
NRHP reference No.	76000773 [1]
Added to NRHP	October 22, 1976

The Chautauqua Pavilion is a historic structure located in City Park in Riverton, Iowa, United States. William "Coin" Harvey, a political ally of William Jennings Bryan, founded a political fraternal order known as the Patriots of America. Fremont County, Iowa was said to have the largest number of members of any county in the US in the organization. ^[2] It was selected to have an experimental structure to house encampments of the Patriots. Harvey donated $500 towards its construction in the Riverton city park. Within a few years the organization died out, and the pavilion was used for summer Chautauqua shows, Sunday school and church services, school graduations and May Day observances. The 70-foot (21 m) diameter structure is 35 feet (11 m) high in the center and 9 feet (3 m) high at the eaves. ^[2] It is capped with a conical-shaped roof and open on the sides. The pavilion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. ^[1]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. W.P. Cowden. "Chautauqua Pavilion" (PDF). National Park Service . Retrieved 2016-01-26.