Seney–Stovall Chapel is a church building in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

, United States. Part of

Cobbham Historic District The Cobbham Historic District, in Athens, Georgia, is a historic district which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It included 216 contributing buildings on . The district is roughly bounded by Prince Ave., Hill, R ...

, it is located in the grounds of the former

Lucy Cobb Institute The Lucy Cobb Institute was a girls' school on Milledge Avenue in Athens, Georgia, United States. It was founded by Thomas R.R. Cobb, and named in honor of his daughter, who had died of scarlet fever at age 14, shortly before construction was c ...

, itself now part of the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. It is named for

George I. Seney George Ingraham Seney (May 12, 1826 – April 7, 1893) was a New York City banker, art collector, and benefactor. He was the father of symphonic music executive Mary Seney Sheldon. He is best remembered for amassing a substantial collection of pre ...

and Nellie Stovall.

Mildred Lewis Rutherford Mildred Lewis "Miss Millie" Rutherford (July 16, 1851 – August 15, 1928) was a prominent white supremacist educator and author from Athens, Georgia. She served the Lucy Cobb Institute, as its head and in other capacities, for over forty years, ...

(or "Miss Millie"), then head of the Lucy Cobb Institute, decided the girls needed a chapel and had them write seeking funding for one. In 1881, Nellie Stovall wrote "a beautiful and girlish letter" to

, who responded with the funding for the $10,000 structure, an octagonal red brick building called the Seney-Stovall Chapel. It was designed by a local architect

William Winstead Thomas William Winstead Thomas (1848–1904) (including two photos) was an American insurance company president and an architect. He was president of the Southern Mutual Insurance Company. Several of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register o ...

. When Rutherford stepped down from the role of principal in 1895, she was replaced at the school's helm by her sister,

Mary Ann Lipscomb Mary Ann Rutherford Lipscomb (1848 — 1918) was an educator born in Athens, Georgia. Lipscomb believed in childhood education, and she helped make primary education required for all children in Georgia. After she was widowed, Lipscomb went to wo ...

. Rutherford and Lipscomb were nieces of

Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb (April 10, 1823 – December 13, 1862) was an American lawyer, author, politician, and Confederate States Army officer, killed in the Battle of Fredericksburg during the American Civil War. He was the brother of noted C ...

. In 1986,

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative ...

recorded two songs—their own song, "Swan Swan H", and a cover of Boudleaux Bryant's " Dream (All I Have to Do)"—in the chapel for the documentary '' Athens, GA: Inside/Out''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seney-Stovall Chapel Churches completed in 1881 University of Georgia campus 1881 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) R.E.M. Churches in Georgia (U.S. state)