Lily Dale is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

, connected with the Spiritualist movement, located in the Town of Pomfret on the east side of Cassadaga Lake, next to the Village of Cassadaga. Located in southwestern

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

, it is one hour southwest of Buffalo, halfway to the Pennsylvania border. Lily Dale's year-round population is estimated to be 275. Each year approximately 22,000 visitors come for classes, workshops, public church services and

mediumship Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...

demonstrations, lectures, and private appointments with mediums.Schwartz, Stephan A.
Spirit World
, ''American Heritage'', April/May 2005. In recent years, guest lecturers have included Lisa Williams,

Dee Wallace Deanna Wallace (née Bowers; born December 14, 1948), also known as Dee Wallace Stone, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mary Taylor, the mother in the 1982 blockbuster film '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. She i ...

, members of '' Ghost Hunters'', Tibetan monks, James Van Praagh, Dr.

Wayne Dyer Wayne Walter Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an American self-help author and a motivational speaker. Dyer completed a Ed.D. in guidance and counseling at Wayne State University in 1970. Early in his career, he worked as a high sch ...

, and

Deepak Chopra Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternativ ...

. Lily Dale was incorporated in 1879 as Cassadaga Lake Free Association, a camp and meeting place for Spiritualists and

Freethinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

. The name was changed to The City of Light in 1903 and finally to Lily Dale Assembly in 1906. The purpose of Lily Dale was to further the science, philosophy, and religion of

Spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase ...

. Lily Dale was featured in the HBO documentary ''No One Dies in Lily Dale''. Most of the hamlet was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2022.

Geography and features

Lily Dale is located on the east side of Upper Cassadaga Lake, one of four lakes that comprise the Cassadaga Lakes system, at an elevation of approximately 1325 ft. Its coordinates are 42°21'06" North, 79°19'27" West (42.351725, −79.324211). Its main route of access is

New York State Route 60 New York State Route 60 (NY 60) is a north–south state highway in Chautauqua County, New York, in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with U.S. Route 62 (US 62) south of the city of Ja ...

, which is located about .5 miles east of the hamlet and runs north and south to the cities of

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

and Jamestown. Leolyn Woods is a 10-acre tract of old growth forest on the grounds of the community of Lily Dale. Lily Dale Assembly charges a fee for admission during its summer season but it is free and open to the public at other times of year. The woodlot is small but contains some of the most accessible very old, large trees in the region, including eastern white pine standing 135 feet tall. Other species of big trees include northern red oak, eastern hemlock, red maple, sugar maple, cucumber magnolia, and black cherry. Some trees are estimated to range in age from 200 to 400 years.

Spiritualism and the Lily Dale community

Lily Dale became the largest center of the

Spiritualist Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase) ...

movement as other similar organizations went into decline. Other communities such as Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp (

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

) and Camp Chesterfield (

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

) were founded on similar principles and are still active organizations. The Fox Cottage of the

Fox sisters The Fox sisters were three sisters from Rochester, New York who played an important role in the creation of Spiritualism: Leah (April 8, 1813 – November 1, 1890), Margaretta (also called Maggie), (October 7, 1833 – March 8, 1893) and Catheri ...

fame was moved from Hydesville,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and transported to Lily Dale in 1915 although on September 21, 1955, it was destroyed by fire. Lily Dale hosts the headquarters of the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC), founded in 1893: the NSAC’s first president, Harrison D. Barrett, was himself a Lily Dale resident. A large population of people associated with Spiritualism reside in Lily Dale year round. Television mediums Lisa Williams and Michelle Whitedove have homes here. File:Lily Dale Entrance.JPG, Entrance to Lily Dale Spiritualist community, New York File:Fox-Cabin-Site-Lily-Dale-.jpg, The former site of the Fox Sisters' cabin is now a small clearing in the woods File:LilyDaleMuseum.jpg, The Lily Dale Museum is located within a renovated schoolhouse building and features exhibits on the history of Spiritualism

The Lily Dale Spiritualist Assembly

The Lily Dale Spiritualist Assembly holds year round meetings and provides seminars on topics such as

, spiritualist studies and topics within the subject of the

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

. Well-known speakers such as

, Dr.

and John Edward have frequently appeared at Lily Dale. This private community is home to The Marion Skidmore Library, Lily Dale Museum, its own Volunteer Fire Department, and also is the location of the already mentioned headquarters of The National Spiritualist Association of Churches. Lily Dale contains 160 private residences, two hotels, guest houses, Spiritualist and New Age bookstores, two eateries, and a café. Free Summer Program booklets announce events such as mediumship demonstrations, religious services, workshops, thought exchange meetings, and healing services. Visitors can also find camp grounds for either a tent or Recreation Vehicles, picnic grounds, and a lake front beach for swimming and sunbathing. Admission on Sunday mornings is waived to allow for church attendance.

In popular culture

Lily Dale is the backdrop for a series of

young adult A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

paranormal novels by ''New York Times'' bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub, who grew up a few miles from Lily Dale, New York. To date, the series includes four titles published by Walker Books for Young Readers: ''Lily Dale: Awakening'', ''Lily Dale: Believing'', ''Lily Dale: Connecting'' and ''Lily Dale: Discovering''. Staub has also written an adult thriller set in Lily Dale entitled ''In the Blink of an Eye'', published by Kensington Books in 2002, and currently writes the Lily Dale Mysteries, an adult spin-off series featuring new characters as well as several from the original. The first three books are "Nine Lives," "Something Buried, Something Blue," and "Dead of Winter," with two additional titles coming soon.

References

External links

Lily Dale webpage

Lily Dale Postcards on New York Heritage Digital Collections

{{Coord, 42, 21, 06, N, 79, 19, 27, W, type:city_region:US-NY, display=title Hamlets in Chautauqua County, New York Spiritualist communities in the United States Hamlets in New York (state) National Register of Historic Places in Chautauqua County, New York