Women of Kinnelon

Mary Kinney

1880s

Founders & Heritage

An entire landmark — one of the most significant early Tiffany interiors in the country — was created in devotion to one woman's faith.

Francis S. Kinney, the tobacco magnate for whom Kinnelon is named, built St. Hubert's Chapel (1886–1889) on an island in Lake Kinnelon for his wife, Mary, a devout Catholic, so she would not have to travel roughly seven miles to the nearest church (St. Anthony of Padua in Butler). Though infirm, Mary regularly attended Mass there, where she also had the opportunity to sing.

The chapel was the first consecrated Roman Catholic place of worship in Kinnelon (dedicated 1889) and is regarded by Tiffany scholars as Louis Comfort Tiffany's first fully integrated ecclesiastical decorative commission.

Sources & confidence

Confidence: Documented. Every published entry clears our documented-or-omit standard.

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