The Lily Dale Assembly, the historic spiritualist community in Chautauqua County, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Park Service included the Lily Dale Assembly Historic District on its weekly list of new historic sites on Jan. 28.
The Assembly was formed in 1879 and the designation will help the group seek financial grants to preserve its historic community buildings, such as the assembly hall and auditorium. It will also allow the approximately 275 residents of historic homes in Lily Dale to qualify for a 20% tax credit so they can make improvements to aging buildings.
Shelley Takei, who started the effort to gain the historic recognition for the community in 2016, told the Buffalo News that she found out about it through emails from people who noticed the online National Park Service announcement.
