Chapel Woods
Summary
Name
Significance
Significant
Description
The Chapel Woods Character Area has been forested since the federal government acquired the property from George Washington Riggs in 1851. The area termed the Chapel Woods has been a coherent land use unit at least since the 1860s, bounded by Arnold Drive (formerly Central Drive), Upper Hospital Road (formerly Bessie’s Drive), and Eisenhower Drive (formerly East Drive).It covers approximately twenty acres of AFRHW.
A detailed 1851 plat map of Riggs’s property depicts the Chapel Woods Character Area as “Wood Land.” Subsequent nineteenth- and twentieth-century maps also show this part of the property as forested.
The most notable built resource in the Chapel Woods Character Area is Rose Chapel (Building 42), completed in 1870. Old Chapel Circle surrounds the chapel with woodlands along the perimeter. Freestanding resources such as the Gardener’s Quarters (Building 40), the Secretary to the Quartermaster’s Quarters (Building 41), and the Engineer’s Quarters (Building 45) are located to the south of the chapel. Early transportation infrastructure within this area includes a paved path leading from the Central Grounds Character Area to Barnes Hospital (1872, demolished circa 1952) as well as Old Chapel Road and Old Chapel Circle.
Guidelines
none recorded
Boundary
Location Notes
The Chapel Woods Character Area follows the landform created by a rise in the natural topography, the mature woodlands, and historic street patterns dating to the first decades of the institution’s existence. The vegetation, as seen in the old oak trees and laurel understory along the edge of the boundary, is in keeping with the historic descriptions, following the pattern and characteristics of the land as depicted in maps published in the 1860s.
The western boundary goes beyond Arnold Drive, an historic road established in 1867, and conforms with the drop in topography and continued forestation that extends beyond the road towards the Savannah I Character Area adjacent to the west. To the east, the boundary roughly conforms to the edges of the wooded areas, which are consistent with the wooded areas present on the 1867 map. This eastern boundary encompasses the historic Upper Hospital Road and Eisenhower Drive, as well as a patch of woods just north of Heating Plant (Building 46). The north boundary is adjacent to the modern parking lot to the east and follows Upper Hospital Road until it joins with Old Chapel Circle.
Related Resources
Related Inventory Resources
Lincoln Cottage (is contained within / contains)
Tool House (adversely affects / is adversely affected by)
