Mudlavia- The Chapel of the King's Daughters

Out of all of the fascinating stories about Mudlavia, the story behind the Mudlavia chapel is one of my favorites.

A man named Henry (who also went by Harry) Kramer opened Mudlavia in the spring of 1891. Henry Kramer was known as a brilliant entrepreneur, and gained great success from his pharmaceutical business and the Mudlavia Hotel.

In 1892, Henry Kramer married Miss Anna S. Moore, a local girl, whose family owned property around Mudlavia.

There is a ton of information on Henry Kramer, but there is very little information to be found on his wife, Anna. Most sources state the basics; she grew up in Warren County, she married Henry Kramer, and she had two sons.

Local newspapers wrote that when Mudlavia burned on February 29, 1920, Mrs. Kramer lost $25,000 worth of jewels in the fire.
If anyone had a fairy-tale story, it was Anna Moore Kramer. When she married Henry Kramer, she married into a life of success, wealth, and luxury. She raised her family on the fourth floor of the thriving hotel, surrounded by beautiful gardens, famous people, and extravagant parties. She had everything she could ever want.

Yet, there’s one more thing that she is known for, the building of the Mudlavia chapel.

One newspaper states that Mrs. H.L. Kramer had it in her heart to build a chapel near the hotel.

For Mrs. Kramer, Mudlavia was not complete without a place for the guests to worship and hear the word of the Lord, and she set forth to have a chapel built on the grounds. The rumor is that Mr. Kramer said she could build a chapel as long as she raised all the money herself.

An article from the Attica Ledger states, “Mrs. H.L. Kramer is interested in securing the funds for the erection of a chapel in which to hold religious services. She is an energetic worker and will no doubt succeed in the accomplishment of her purpose.”

And she did! Ground was broken for the chapel in August of 1897, six years after the hotel was built and five years after Anna married Henry Kramer.

She named the chapel, “The Chapel of the King’s Daughters”. The chapel could hold up to 250 people. One source describes it as a small Victorian style, wood-shingled church, while another source states that the chapel was of Gothic and Queen Anne architecture with stained-glass windows. At the front stood an organ and it had electric lighting (which was very modern for Warren County at the time)!

(Pictured above, one of the only pictures I have seen of the Mudlavia chapel from a postcard my sweet grandpa gave to me. This is a drawing done by an artist.)

The chapel was non-sectarian (nondenominational) and offered services on Wednesdays at half past seven, Sundays at two o’clock for Sunday school, and Sundays at three for the preaching service. They also used the chapel for recitals, lectures, and concerts on the other days of the week.

This link shows a rare picture of the Mudlavia Chapel from the collection of the Williamsport Washington Township Public Library.
http://www.wwtpl.lib.in.us/HistoryRecordView.aspx?historyRecordID=3157

Local preachers took turns preaching at Mudlavia. On one postcard, the letter writer wrote about a preacher that gave an excellent sermon on the 3^rd commandment about not taking the Lord’s name in vain.

In the summer, it was common for the Mudlavia preachers to host baptisms at Pine Creek after church. Sometimes Mrs. Kramer hosted ice cream socials after the Sunday service and they often held church picnics after the service.

One secondary source stated that Mrs. Kramer decided to no longer open up church services to the locals due to their behavior, however, the next week they made amends and services were opened back up to the public (non-paying guests) again. So, not only was the chapel for the wealthy guests that stayed there, but she wanted everyone, even the locals, to have a place to worship.

Mudlavia was a place where people were healed through a special mud treatment. It was a place of breath-taking beauty. It was a place where people could come and find peace and relaxation from the rigors of life, and yet, Anna Kramer, who had all the worldly luxuries a girl could ever want, realized this wasn’t enough.

Mrs. Kramer knew there was more to life than riches, fame, success, and extravagance. She created a place where her guests could hear preaching twice a week and attend Sunday school, where they could get baptized, and where they could not just find healing for their bodily ailments, but healing for their souls through the chapel. She wanted this so badly, that she raised all the money to have it built herself.

I can picture her, standing in her lavish apartment on the fourth floor, reasoning with her husband as she stares out at the gorgeous grounds of Mudlavia and explaining why she wants a chapel so badly. “If we don’t have a chapel, we don’t have anything.”

An anonymous quote says, “I am a daughter of the King, who is not moved by the world. For my God is with me and goes before me. I do not fear because I am His.”

What an apt quote for Anna Kramer. She did not just settle into a life of luxury and was not moved by the wealth and success of the world around her, but worked hard to build a chapel to bring peace and healing to every guest who came to stay at Mudlavia.

While I have never known great wealth, her legacy speaks to me. Her legacy shows that wealth and fame aren’t everything. Her legacy shows that community is of great importance, that all people (whether wealthy guests or poor locals) should have the chance to worship in the church, and that while healing can come from various medicine and natural remedies, true healing comes from knowing the word of the Lord.

*Credit- The newspaper articles on the chapel came from the Warren County Historical Society. One article was partially ripped and the other very faded, so I am still trying to track down the newspapers and dates that the articles were written. Special thanks to Terri Wargo, who is in charge of the Warren County Historical Society. Special thanks to Chris Brown, the librarian of the Williamsport-Washington Public Library, who has given me permission to link the picture of the chapel to my blog.