In the early 1900s, the quiet mountain community of Pocono Pines found its voice through the vision of Rev. Rufus W. Miller, a learned clergyman whose passion for education and spiritual fellowship reshaped the lakeside village. A genuine minister and a man of considerable organizational skill, Miller founded the Naomi Pines Assembly and Summer School in 1902, bringing the Chautauqua ideal of cultural enrichment and non-denominational worship to the Poconos. Under his guidance, Pocono Pines transformed into a seasonal hub of lectures, concerts, and lakeside gatherings, an ambitious blend of faith, learning, and recreation that left a lasting mark on the community’s identity.
This story is part of a series I’ve been researching, as I rebuild my memories growing up on Lake Naomi in the Poconos. As the series comes together, there is an associated Facebook Group, called Lake Naomi Memories, for anyone to share their memories that help create a digital history footprint on the web. Oh, and they’ll certainly help me remember as well.
Community Impact: The Naomi Pines Assembly and Summer Schools opened in the summer of 1903 and included facilities like the Pocono Pines Inn, Blakeslee Hall, and an open-air auditorium overlooking Lake Naomi
History can be unkind, and this is one of those stories. As a younger brother myself, I can imagine how Rufus must have felt. His older brother, Franklin Comfort Miller, has long been celebrated. Franklin was born just two years earlier, and his name is everywhere; his daughter Naomi gave Lake Naomi its name, and there’s even an island on the lake that honors him: Franklin “Comfort” Miller Island.
But what about Rufus? His life and legacy are often overshadowed, yet he has a remarkable story of his own. Let’s dig in.
The Beginnings
Thomas H. Miller and Emma were long-time Easton residents in Northampton County, PA. Franklin, Rufus’s older brother, was born on December 1, 1855. Three years later, Thomas, the brother, was born. But this story is about Rufus, and six years after Franklin, on May 9, 1862, in Easton, PA, Rufus W. Miller was born. Miller also had a younger sister, Florence Emma Miller, born three years after Rufus in 1865. All were born in Easton, PA.
So I first started digging like I always do and went to Ancestry.com to build a Miller family tree. Here’s what Ancestry says about Rufus:
When Rufus Wilder Miller was born on May 9, 1862, in Easton, Pennsylvania, his father, Thomas, was 37 and his mother, Emma, was 33. He had three brothers and three sisters. He died on October 11, 1925, at the age of 63.
See what I mean? No fluff there. But there is a story!
Around the early 1890s, Rufus and Franklin Miller began acquiring land in what was then called the Pocono Pines. In 1895, they dammed Tunkhannock Creek to create Lake Naomi for ice harvesting under the Pocono Spring Water Ice Company. I haven’t found any indication that Thomas or Emma ever fully moved from Easton to Pocono Pines. It’s more likely they visited for extended stays, especially during the ice season or summer, and maintained their primary home in Easton. Rufus himself split his time between Philadelphia, where he served as a minister and educator, and the Poconos, where he had property.
Then 1902 Happened – The CHAUTAUQUA
In 1874, on the shores of Chautauqua Lake in New York, a gathering intended to train Sunday school teachers evolved into something much larger. Under the leadership of John Heyl Vincent and Lewis Miller, the Chautauqua movement emerged, a blend of school, revival, and summer festival that combined lectures, music, art, and recreation in scenic settings. The idea swept the nation, inspiring permanent assemblies and traveling “tent Chautauquas.” In 1902, Rev. Rufus W. Miller brought it to the Pocono Mountains, creating the Naomi Pines Assembly and Summer Schools on 300 wooded acres. For eight summer weeks, guests filled hotels and the auditorium, studying, performing, and worshipping beneath the pines.
Dr. Miller had numerous religious affiliations. He was one of the founders of the Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip, a church organization for men; a member of the International Council of Religious Education; a trustee of the United Society of Christian Endeavor; and a member of the executive and administrative committees of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America. In 1909, Dr. Miller was elected president of the Eastern Synod of the Reformed Church and has since served as a member of the joint committee on Union between Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. He was president of the Pennsylvania Bible Society, a member of the International Sunday School executive committee, and vice president and director of the Parkway Trust Company of this city. Katherine McCauley 1888.
Naomi Pines Assembly and Summer Schools
In 1902, Rev. Rufus W. Miller would purchase 300 acres of land near the quiet village of Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania. His dream was to create a local chapter of the Chautauqua movement, a phenomenon sweeping the country. These were more than summer retreats; they were gatherings where mind, spirit, and body could all be nourished. Remember now, this was almost ten years after they acquired land with their older brother Frank to dam the Tunkhannock Creek and start an ice company on a lake they had created. And yes, they got sued for doing it! (Another history story at the end of this one.)
POCONO PINES ASSEMBLY
Historical Association of Tobyhanna Township
7/24/1908
“We arrived well and happy yesterday noon; it is not warmer than here, but cooler than Phila. Some old friends here. Father is happy, ensuring acquaintances. Will write first of the week.”
In the early years of the 20th century, the Pocono woods came alive each summer with the hum of conversation, the swell of hymns, and the cadence of learned voices. Dr. Rufus W. Miller was ordained to the ministry of the Reformed Church in September 1886 at Reading, Pennsylvania. Immediately after his ordination, he became associate pastor of the Second Reformed Church in Reading, where he served until 1892. The Pocono Pines Assembly served as a religious and educational gathering place, with non-denominational Christian worship at its core. On May 9, 1888, Dr. Miller was married to his first wife, Katherine McCauley, also from Reading, PA.
The retreat was named the Naomi Pines Assembly and Summer Schools. From June to August, the place underwent a transformation. Hotels and cottages bustled with visitors. The grand auditorium rang with lectures on history, science, literature, and the arts. Morning Bible studies gave way to afternoon painting classes or orchestra rehearsals, and in the evenings, the grounds glowed with lantern light as people strolled under the pines after a stirring performance.
The land ran to and along the railroad right of way for 100 feet, adjoining the Ice Company property on the west, then to the lake on the north and on the east.
It was a community of ideas and inspiration, a place where city dwellers and small-town folk alike could escape the heat, breathe the mountain air, and return home a little wiser, a little more renewed.
But dreams like these were fragile. By 1910, financial difficulties began to shadow the Assembly. Attendance dwindled, and the costs of maintaining hotels, libraries, and lecture halls proved too steep. The lofty vision of a permanent cultural and spiritual haven gave way to practicality: the grounds were converted into a public resort. From 1910 to 1920, the Pocono Pines Assembly underwent a transformation, shifting from a temple of ideas to a playground in the mountains.
From Religion to Tourism – New Pocono Pines Inn Addition to the Assembly Properties
After the Assembly concept collapsed around 1910 due to financial strain, the site transitioned into a public resort. Instead of being run as a cultural-educational summer program, the grounds were marketed for leisure vacations. The main hotel, which had once housed Assembly guests, was upgraded and expanded for resort use, and in time it became formally identified as the Pocono Pines Inn, serving visitors for decades afterward.
Postcard Collection – Naomi Pines Assembly and Summer Schools
One thing I noticed during my research was a vast collection of postcards representing the beauty of The Assembly. Back in the early 1900s, you could get a postcard for a penny and write about your travels for anyone to see when it was in their mailbox. It was a really big deal back then, and it also serves as a great history lesson and research tool today.
Below is a collection of cards that students and guests wrote about their visit to the Pocono Mountains. I got to learn so much about what was really the Pocono Pines first, and one of the finest historical destinations in the area. You can click any postcard to begin a slideshow of enlarged images.
I’ve also put together a larger collection of all of my postcards I’ve gathered (See story).
Miller Estate Sells Assembly Properties that Transition to Lutherland
Rufus would pass on October 11, 1925, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of 63. He was laid to rest at Easton Cemetery in his hometown of Easton. The next year, in August 1926, a deal was finalized with the Miller estate for the sale and transfer of Rufus Miller’s property in Pocono Pines to the Lutheran Conference and Camp Association (LCCA) for a planned Pocono Mountain community promoted by New York and Philadelphia Lutherans. The agreement, managed by the Stroudsburg Realty Company, added $22,000 worth of land to the project. Lutherland already had 1,700 lots leased for 99 years, with leaseholders required to build homes on them. Plans included a 400-student missionary training college, a nearly 200-acre lake formed by damming Beaver Creek, and a vision to match Stroudsburg in building count within three years. The development encompassed 1,456 acres, combining Miller’s 116 acres, 300 acres from the former Pocono Pines Assembly, and 1,040 acres from Frank Meckes. Lutherland aimed to operate as a self-sufficient city with its own governance and finances. Check out our Pocono’s Gilded Age story.
By the mid-20th century, tastes in tourism began to change. Large summer hotels struggled as travelers shifted toward motels, motor lodges, and, later, private vacation homes. The original Pocono Pines Inn eventually closed and was either dismantled or destroyed; sources differ on whether it was lost to fire or deliberate demolition. By the 1960s, the site had been redeveloped, and the grand inn that had once been the centerpiece of both the Assembly and early Pocono Pines tourism was no longer there.
Still, those who had once walked its wooded paths during those first bright summers remembered it not just as a place, but as a spirit, a Chautauqua spirit, that had brought a world of knowledge to the heart of the Poconos.
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About The Author
I decided to write these stories down because a friend of mine, with whom I grew up, now lives on Lake Naomi and still sends me photos of the Lake Naomi Club trophy case, where my name, along with my father’s and brothers’, lives on (Thanks, Sue). Thank you for allowing me to document this life experience for the record.
Brooks founded Mr. Local History and the Mr. Local History Project along with his wife, Jill. Born in Plainfield, New Jersey, and raised in Westfield, Brooks graduated from Westfield High School in 1980 and later from Bryant University. For over two decades, Brooks, along with his brother Brian and younger sister Cee Cee, spent their summers on Lake Naomi with their parents, Frank and Caryolyn Betz, who had lived on Canoe Brook Road since the mid-1960s.
He and his family owned the Pocono Boathouse (Pocono Pines, PA) and the Cranford Canoe Club in the 1960s through the 1990s.
There are likely many gaps in the history that I hope to fill, along with a return visit to Lake Naomi to reminisce and reflect on these stories. This story is part of a series dedicated to the history of Lake Naomi, Pocono Pines, and the memories of my family spending time together. Thanks for reading.
My Series Honoring the History of the Lake Naomi / Pocono Pines Region
Rufus W. Miller Obituary Transcript – October 11, 1925 – The Morning Call
Mon, Oct 12, 1925
DEATH CLAIMS REV. DR. RUFUS W. MILLER, ONE OF LEADERS OF REFORMED CHURCH; WAS BORN IN EASTON, MAY 12TH, 1862
Was Secretary of the Publication and Sunday School Board — Stricken With Apoplexy Several Months Ago While Crossing the Ocean to Attend Assembly at Cardiff, Wales
Philadelphia, Oct. 11 (AP) — The Rev. Dr. Rufus W. Miller, secretary of the publication and Sunday School board of the Reformed Church in the United States and a widely known churchman, died tonight at his home here. He was 63 years old.
Dr. Miller was stricken with apoplexy several months ago when crossing the ocean to attend an assembly of the Alliance of the Reformed Churches at Cardiff, Wales. From there he had expected to go to Stockholm as a delegate of the Reformed Church to the Universal Christian Conference on life and work. Illness forced him to change plans and after a short stay in England he returned home early in August.
Dr. Miller’s religious affiliations were many. He was one of the founders of the Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip, a church organization of men; a member of the International Council of Religious Education; trustee of the United Society of Christian Endeavor and a member of the executive and administrative committees of the federal council of churches of Christ in America. In 1909, Dr. Miller was elected president of the Eastern Synod of the Reformed Church and has since served as a member of the joint committee on Union between Presbyterian and Reformed Churches. He was president of the Pennsylvania Bible Society, a member of the International Sunday School executive committee, and vice president and director of the Parkway Trust Company of this city.
In June, 1925, Dr. Miller sailed from Montreal as a delegate of the Reformed Church in the U.S. to the Alliance of the Reformed Churches throughout the world, holding the Presbyterian system, meeting at Cardiff, Wales. Mrs. Miller accompanied him. It was also Dr. Miller’s purpose to fill the pulpit of the Protestant Church in Zurich, Switzerland during August. But an increasing nervous exhaustion on board ship was followed later by an attack which was diagnosed as a slight cerebral hemorrhage, confining Dr. Miller to his bed. Later, his son, Dr. Hugh McC. Miller, went over and brought Dr. Miller home, arriving in the United States on August 2.
Dr. Miller was born in Easton on May 12, 1862, a son of Thomas Thompson and Emma (Meixell) Miller. He graduated from Lafayette College in 1883 with the degree of A.B. Three years later his alma mater conferred upon him the A.M. degree. From 1883–4 Dr. Miller attended the Union Theological Seminary, and in 1886 he graduated from the Eastern Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church. He received his D.D. from Heidelberg University, Ohio, in 1902, and again from Lafayette in 1907.
On May 9, 1888, Dr. Miller was married to Katherine McCauley, of Reading, PA. She passed away on April 23, 1918. Dr. Miller’s second marriage was to Mrs. Minnie W. Gross, on July 16, 1924. She survives him, together with three children by his former marriage: Dr. Hugh McCauley Miller, a graduate of the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania; Mrs. Emma, wife of James J. Waygood; and Mrs. Frances, wife of John Porter Scott. Five grandchildren also survive, together with two sisters and a brother: Mrs. Anne Hart, Mrs. Florence Miller Tompkins and Frank C. Miller.
Dr. Miller was ordained to the Reformed church ministry in September, 1886, at Reading. He immediately became associate pastor of the Second Reformed church, Reading, in which capacity he served until 1892. From then until 1894 he served as pastor of the Hummels-town Reformed church.
Since 1894, Dr. Miller was secretary and editor of Publication and Sunday school work of the Reformed church in the United States. In addition to other church affiliations mentioned above, Dr. Miller was honorary president of the International Council of the Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip, which he founded; first secretary and organizer of the Sunday school board of the Reformed church in the United States. He had editorial supervision of thirty periodicals. He was also a member of the Central Committee World’s Sunday School association, government delegate to the International Congress on Alcoholism, Milan, Italy, in 1912; delegate to the Alliance of the Reformed churches holding the Presbyterian system throughout the world, meeting in Cardiff, Wales, June 23 to July 2, 1925; delegate to the Universal Conference on Life and Work, Stockholm, Sweden, August 19 to 30, 1925. Dr. Miller was general secretary of the Philip Schaff Memorial Committee, having had a great deal to do with the erection of the Schaff building in Philadelphia, a monument to an eminent scholar of church history. The building, at Fifteenth and Race streets, Philadelphia, is widely known as the Interchurch building. Dr. Miller had his office there. It houses some dozen church and interchurch organizations, and on the first floor there is a hall with memorial windows commemorating the interdenominational activities of Dr. Schaff in Christian union, the American revision of the Bible, and Christian education.
Dr. Miller was a prolific writer on church and allied topics. Aside from his multitudinous duties as head of church organizations, he found time to pen “The Primary and Junior Hymnal,” 1902; “Standard Songs,” 1905; “Treasured Hymns,” 1908; “Minister a Man Among Men,” 1915; “Daily Devotions,” 1920; and many review articles, booklets, etc.
He held membership in the Phi Kappa Psi and Phi Beta Kappa fraternities, and in the City and Republican clubs in Philadelphia. His home was at 1804 Wynnewood Road, Overbrook.
Dr. Miller was a warm advocate of the Boy Scout movement in the churches. He was deeply interested in the American Friends’ Commission, was a member of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. He was also deeply interested in the Deaconess Training school of the Presbyterian and Reformed church, Philadelphia.
In all matters of Temperance Dr. Miller upheld the law and worked intelligently and faithfully on the committees on which he was appointed, to further temperance education and the enforcement of the prohibition laws. For many years he served as chairman of the Temperance Commission of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. He also served as secretary of the American Council on Organic Union of Evangelical churches; notably the union of the Presbyterian and Reformed churches.
The Near East Relief was always a subject near to his heart and he gave of his personal means, using his influence to assist the Near East Relief in its efforts to continue the support of this great and needy work, representing also the Reformed Church, whose Sunday Schools contributed liberally every year to the Near East Relief.
The Presbyterian Historical Society honored him with membership and the Society for Providing Evangelical Literature for the Blind, in connection with the Pennsylvania Bible Society of this city, was indebted to him for wise counsel, as representing the Reformed Church on its committees.
Dr. Miller also represented his denomination on the World Alliance for International Friendship and the World’s Sunday School association, being a delegate to Japan, from the Reformed Church, in the U.S., in 1920.
This was a strong personality which cannot be replaced and which has left its impress indelibly on the work of the church and the Sunday schools of the church which he so loved and to which he gave, not only of his means, but of his most unstinted, devoted and loyal service, in season and out of season, constantly.
