Folks driving north on State Route 54 often look up toward the crest of Keuka Bluff and remark upon the sight of Garrett Chapel.  They are wrong.  What they’re looking at is the Wagener Mansion.
They are RIGHT, though, to be interested in the chapel, which lies a little below the mansion, mostly screened by forest.  Garrett Chapel is one of the jewels of our region, too little known, too seldom visited, too poorly appreciated.
Its origins lie, as is so often the case with the extraordinary, in grief and tragedy.   Paul and Evelyn Garrett operated one of the world’s largest wine producers, harvesting grapes from 4000 acres of Finger Lakes vineyards.  In those days, as today, medical care was rationed to the well-to-do, which certainly included the Garretts.  But in those days, UNLIKE today, medical care was horribly limited.  Despite their access to health care, only one of the Garrett sons survived to adulthood.  But even Charles Williams Garrett died far too young, in 1929, from the then-untreatable “white plague” of tuberculosis.  His death extinguished the Garrett name, and many of his family’s dreams.
Mother and father dreamed a new dream… to memorialize their son by creating the Little Chapel on the Mount, overlooking Keuka Lake, on a site that Charles had deeply loved.  They brought in granite from Pennsylvania — slate from Vermont, and from the Netherlands — onyx from Algeria — marble from Tennessee — and erected a chapel in the style of the sixth century.
Taking one of a few dozen seats in the jewel-box sanctuary, you are surrounded with windows illustrating the life of Christ, from Nativity to Ascension.  The chapel belongs to and is operated by the Episcopal diocese of Rochester, but Sunday services (Fourth of July through Labor Day) are conducted by visiting clergy, resulting in a more-or-less Episcopalian service.  When we last worshiped there on August 4, the chapel was nearly full, with congregants running from the toddlers through the elderly.  Despite the stone setting, the feeling seems always warm.
Windows in the crypt below the sanctuary have their own theme, drawn from such well-loved poems as “Abou Ben Adhem,” “The Children’s Hour,” “The Brook,” “Sir Galahad,” “Wynken and Blynken and Nod,” and “Crossing the Bar.”  They shine the light on youth with its hopes and dreams, and the commandment to love thy neighbor as thyself, “to emphasize that an enduring civilization can be built only on the foundation of family life, with love the keynote.”
Figures on the bronze door of the crypt, crowned by Motherhood, illustrate such human roles as the Fisher, the Sower, the Student, the Scientist, the Artisan, the Athlete, the Musician, and the Painter — potential futures closed with each death of a Garrett child.
Apart from the chapel itself, the quiet wooded setting on the dramatic slope overlooking Keuka is unforgettable.  The grounds are landscaped, with flowers and paths, shrubs and ferns, enhancing the experience.  Garrett Memorial Chapel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
You approach Garrett Chapel from Skyline Drive on the Bluff.  Now if you’re driving in from the north you’re likely to be doing something silly, like keeping your eyes on the road as it drops.  If you reach Bluff Road, you went a little too far.  The chapel actually lies below the level of Skyline Drive, just barely noticeable.  Look for a metal rail fence on the east side of Skyline, with a small sign announcing the chapel.
There’s a dirt drive below the fence, hard to turn into from the north.  This leads to a small parking area near the chapel.  Otherwise many visitors park along Skyline, then descend to the chapel by a long set of steps.
Chapel supporters have completed three phases of a five-phase restoration plan.  They are currently seeking support for phase four, an $80,000 project for stone repairs allowing them to reopen the south end of the terrace.  The final phase, which could require up to a million dollars, concludes the work on a broad front, including accessible rest rooms and wheelchair access to the sanctuary.  I have made a gift to the project, because I’d like the 82-year-old chapel still to be welcoming visitors when another 82 years have passed.
It must have been quite a project to get out to Garrett Chapel in 1931, over dirt roads and steep grades and at a fair distance from either Branchport or Penn Yan.  Even today you have to approach it deliberately, and search for it diligently.  The chapel lies hidden in the woods, concealed by the folds of the earth.  The sounds of autos, airplanes, and speedboats are heard only distantly, if they’re heard at all.  Most people approach the chapel gladly but quietly, as they would at the end of a quest.