VIDEO: Chesterfield Historical Society moves historic Kolping Chapel

Video shows the historical society having the entire chapel moved by a truck Wednesday morning. 

Here's the story behind this from ChesterfieldHistoricalSociety.org:

The society’s acquisition of the chapel got off to a false start early in 2015. The Board of Directors of the Catholic Kolping Society of America, Detroit Branch Inc. was considering the sale of Kolping Park. Kolping chapel is currently located in the park. 

The Chesterfield Township Historical Society was anticipating the donation of the chapel, located near its historical village on Sugarbush Road. On Jan. 30 former historical society vice
president Roy Rivard learned that the chapel would not be donated as originally planned. Rivard said that based on the advice of a real estate broker, the Kolping Board of Directors had signed a contract to include all buildings at the Kolping Park site. The contract was in place until May 2015. 

“We were originally going to donate it to the historical society,” said Michael Irlbacher, chairman of the Board of Directors for the Catholic Kolping Society of America, Detroit Branch Inc. “The realtor said a lot of churches are buying parks and we would want to keep the chapel on the park. So that is why at the time we had said we won’t donate right away until the real estate deal is done.” 

Irlbacher said that the real estate possibility of a church purchasing the park has been exhausted, and current discussions with the realtor are focused on developers, although no official offers have been made. Irlbacher said that this re-ignited talks with the Chesterfield Township Historical Society about donation of the chapel. 

Rivard said that on Nov. 12, a meeting was held at the Chesterfield Township Municipal Building. The meeting included Rivard, members of the Board of Directors of the Catholic Kolping Society of America, Detroit Branch Inc., Chesterfield Township Supervisor Michael Lovelock, and township engineering and department of public works employees, according to Rivard. He said a “gentlemen’s agreement” was reached in the matter of the donation. 

The Chesterfield Township Historical Society is planning to raise $50,000 to be able to move the chapel from Kolping Park to the Chesterfield Township Historical Village, according to Rivard. He said the society hopes to raise the money by late spring of 2016 and move the chapel in the summer of 2016.

The Kolping Society was founded in Germany in 1849 by Father Adolph Kolping, a Catholic priest, to benefit German tradesmen and their families. In1926, Father Joseph Wuest established the Catholic Kolping Society of Detroit, which acquired the land currently known as Kolping Park in 1929. The Kolping chapel, built in 1932, is a designated Michigan historic site. A NeoGothic chapel reminiscent of European wayside shrines, it is constructed of stones and shells sent from Kolping societies, churches and missions worldwide.