Written by: Ron Nagy

Category: History Topics

Published: February 29, 2016

1915…The Fox Cottage, the birthplace of Modern Spiritualism was purchased by Mr. B.F. Bartlett and moved to Lily Dale as a matter of preservation and a memorial to Spiritualism and the Fox Sisters. The Cottage was taken apart and shipped across Lake Ontario to Buffalo then trucked to Lily Dale where it was reassembled.
The Cottage was dedicated in 1916.
The 1916 Assembly program booklet states: An added attraction this season is the Hydesville Cottage, the birthplace of Modern Spiritualism, has been purchased and removed to Lily Dale, by Mr. B.F. Bartlett of Cambridge Springs, Pa. This will be a great boon to the thousands of Spiritualist and visitors who yearly come to our Assembly as heretofore the difficulty of reaching this cottage has prevented many from visiting it. Many relics and objects of interest will be on exhibition in the cottage and Miss Floy Cottrell, the most wonderful Rapping Medium in the ranks of Spiritualism will be there to demonstrate the phenomena which marked the beginning of Modern Spiritualism, as these tiny rappings came sixty-eight years ago through the mediumship of the Fox Sisters. Tragically the cottage burned to the ground in 1955.