OCH Programs > Oregon Chautauqua

A Brief History of Chautauqua

Chautauqua lectures borrow their name from the Seneca word for a lake in New York where summer training sessions for Sunday school teachers began in 1874 at an old Methodist Church campsite. The program rapidly grew into an educational and cultural gathering place for adults, and classical music, literary readings, and physical education were added to the curriculum. Chautauqua circuits formed throughout the country as part of the populist adult education movement of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. William Jennings Bryant, Edgar Bergen, Booker T. Washington, Carrie Nation, and Eugene Debs were among the personalities who traveled the circuits. Today the Chautauqua Institution in New York offers educational programs and lectures year-round, many of which are broadcast on public radio stations throughout the country.

Portland was home to the Ellison-White Chautauqua System, the center of Chautauqua circuit activity all along the Pacific coast. Influential local Chautauqua societies were also popular in Ashland, Corvallis, and Gladstone. Abigail Scott Duniway, Joaquin Miller, and Ida Tarbell participated in programs here. The Oregon Shakespeare Theatre in Ashland is located on the old Chautauqua site, and there was an astounding open-air structure in Gladstone until 1959.

Oregon Chautauqua

OCH's Oregon Chautauqua is a statewide speakers bureau offering an annual catalog of humanities programs to nonprofit organizations in Oregon, free of charge. For twenty-six years our scholars have traveled to communities of all sizes across the state, bringing more than 100,000 Oregonians together to learn, talk, argue, and share their ideas. Topics and scholars in the 2008-09 catalog are listed below. Please visit the "Calendar" page to see when Oregon Chatauqua programs will be offered in your community in the coming months.

OCH funds scholars' honoraria, mileage, and per diem costs. Sponsoring community organizations also receive support materials for public relations, event planning, and evaluation. Our goal is to fulfill every organization's program request, but each year the demand is more than we can meet. Please visit our "Support" page for information to learn how you can help support this vital community resource.