The Maplewood Hotel

This chapter assesses the Maplewood Hotel and the Leolyn Inn, considering Lily Dale’s commitment to sobriety. Lily Dale was founded by women’s rights activists who labored for temperance (moderation or prohibition of alcohol) as well as suffrage and other progressive values. Lily Dale’s alcohol prohibition stems from the bylaws of the two organizations with the most authority over the community: the Lily Dale Assembly, formerly the Cassadaga Lake Free Association, and the National Spiritualist Association of Churches (NSAC). Rules, however, are meant to be broken—or at least bent. Despite being located on the Lily Dale grounds (albeit outside the gate), the Iroquois Hotel, one of the primary lodging options for visitors to Lily Dale prior to 1967, was licensed to sell intoxicating liquors. If the prohibition against alcohol is not, and never was, absolute, then why has the bylaw persisted for nearly 150 years? While Spiritualism and temperance are deeply connected movements, there is, and always has been, a practical element to Lily Dale’s alcohol-free customs. As a result, the rule has survived for generations, but it has served different purposes for the many Assembly boards over the years.