In 1917, the Civics Committee of the Marion Woman’s Club approached former Marion resident Leroy A. Goddard with a request for help in constructing a Chapel. Goddard in correspondence with Marion Mayor C.B. Jackson agreed to build a Chapel “worthy of the location” if additional acreage were added to the Rose Hill Cemetery east of Route 37 in Marion. After twenty-seven acres were added, Goddard visited the cemetery along with John A. Nyden, a Chicago architect, on January 5, 1918. Work soon began on the project and six months later, the cornerstone dedication was held.

On May 30, 1919, in celebration of the return of Williamson County soldiers from World War I, the newly completed Chapel was dedicated as part of a Memorial Day ceremony. Mr. and Mrs. Goddard and other family and friends attended. Major John A. Nyden, who had just returned from France, was also in attendance along with over five thousand residents of the Marion and surrounding areas. Southern Illinois University President H.W. Shryock gave the dedication address.

The selection of Mr. Goddard to spearhead the Chapel project was a wise one. The Marion native was born on June 22, 1854. His life reflected hard work, success, and interest in civic affairs. From his first job in a printing office, he progressed at the age of 25 to becoming Marion’s Mayor and opening its first bank. In 1890, he sold the bank and established Mt. Carmel’s First National Bank. Next, he was hired as a cashier at Ft. Dearborn National Bank in Chicago and became its President. In 1908, he became Vice-President of the State Bank of Chicago and was promoted to President the next year. He served in this capacity for many years. He also served as Grand Master of the Masons, Trustee of Northern Illinois State Normal School, President of the Union League of Chicago, Secretary of the First Bankers Association in Illinois, and held other honorary positions.

Architect Nyden also had an impressive background. Born in Sweden, he attended schools in Europe. Immigrating to the United States at the age of seventeen, he studied architecture under George A. Fuller and studied at the Chicago Art Institute. Some of the buildings he designed are located in Chicago, The Bethany Swedish Methodist Church, The Admiral and Commonwealth hotels, and the Melrose Apartments. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, he designed the Minnehaha Academy. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the Swedish-American Historical Museum and in Springfield, Illinois the Stadium was also designed by Mr. Nyden. He was appointed State Architect of Illinois in 1926.

The Levine Construction Company of Chicago built Goddard Chapel. Mr. Goddard furnished the funds. The cost was $20,000. After its completion, he set up a trust Fund for its maintenance.

The appearance of the Chapel is that of a fifteenth-century English parish church. In its size and design, Goddard Chapel recalls the English Perpendicular Gothic Style. It is a one-story rectangular building with a heating system in the quarter basement. Its’ two entrances, one on the west front facade, and the other on the southwest side corner, feature paneled oak doors. The front entry door is flanked by two vertical windows and surmounted by a large stained-glass window. The Chapel’s exterior features Bedford limestone blocks and red tile roof.

The beautiful interior of the Chapel is highlighted by stained-glass windows with a motif of lilies with stems and foliage.

The interior contains the three traditional parts in this type of structure: a narthex, a nave, and an apse. The narthex (vestibule) has a double-doored decorated screen separating it from the nave, or main body of the Chapel. The nave contains the original Flemish pews with a seating capacity of approximately two hundred. A polygonal apse is recessed on the east side of the Chapel; its timber-framed roof forms a dome vault. The nave and narthex also have timber-framed roofs and the original electric light fixtures with ornamental brass shades are suspended from the roofs hammer braces. Interior walls and floors are brick.

In 1978, the Williamson County Historical Society cleaned and refurbished the Chapel and removed many of the traces of age that had taken place on it. They replaced broken stained-glass and cleaned and treated the pews.

When the cornerstone was installed in 1918, a type of “Time Capsule” in the form of a copper box was buried within the cornerstone. Some of the items inside the box are:  an article by Goddard stating his reasons for building the Chapel, some financial records of Marion’s three banks, and an April 15, 1865 edition of the New York Herald which contains news items of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

An episode of vandalism in the summer of 1989 put an end to the policy of leaving the Chapel open to the public at all times. Now a visitor may secure a key and permission for a visit from the Cemetery Department Superintendent.

Note: This building is referenced in Historical Architecture of Marion

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( Article extracted from 1989 Sesquicentennial History, no author name given)