Little Chapel Lawton’s oldest building, hosts Open House to raise funds for repairs

It is the oldest remaining building in Lawton and a prime example of American Gothic church architecture, but time has caught up to the Little Chapel.

Opened in 1902 as the First Presbyterian Church, the Little Chapel at 716 SW D Avenue is now mainly used for weddings, funerals and community space. To raise funds for much-needed repairs and maintenance, an Open House will take place 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

“It’s a beautiful historic building, we’ve got to keep it alive and well,” Patty Neuwirth said. Neuwirth is on the nonprofit board that has made it its mission that the building is being taken care of.

“We raised money mainly by weddings and funerals, that’s how we’d pay our bills,” she said. “But it’s getting harder and harder to do that. People aren’t getting married that often anymore.”

The chapel is said to be a replica of a Scottish church that Rev. Thomas J. Irwin, who served as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church from 1901 to 1922, had discovered. The building has stained glass windows and a cathedral-type ceiling with large ceiling beams and original oak wooden pews, all of which are in good condition. Just the stained glass alone is estimated to be worth half a million dollars, Neuwirth said.

“We’ve done pretty well taking care of it,” she said.

But repair and maintenance costs as well as utility bills and payments for the manager of the building are starting to mount. Utility bills and the manager’s pay are about $1,500 a month, and current estimates say that about $200,000 worth of repairs are needed. Among others, according to Neuwirth, cracks are forming in the bricks, the roof needs to be fixed, and the walkways were last done in the 1990s, as well as other general maintenance issues. Down the road, the stained glass will need repairs, as well, and this will be very expensive, Neuwirth said.

To cover part of the cost, the board is not only trying to get a grant from the McMahon Foundation, but it is also reaching out to the community for help. The Open House event is set to remind the community of this little marvel in downtown Lawton, with two groups, the Vivaldi Strings and Southwest Troubadours, performing. Light refreshments will be served, as well.