Fawn Householder, Community Outreach Coordinator at Care Funeral & Cremation Specialists leads a Halloween-themed tour at the Wellsville MacLean Chapel on Sunday.

WELLSVILLE – History and art converged at the MacLean Funeral Home on Sunday as Care Chapel held its second annual guided fall tour of the historic building and business located at 509 Riverside Ave. in Wellsville. Those who attended the tour were then walked through a painting session and took home their completed canvases.

Fawn Householder, Community Outreach Coordinator at Care Funeral & Cremation Specialists, and Care Funeral Directors Amy Greenaway and Tim Clutter guided the tour while discussing its history, previous owners and past in the village.

“The MacLean Chapel is a beautiful building with a rich history,” Householder said. “We love to share its history with the community and this event was a chance for us to do that again.”

Built in 1833, the home was converted into a funeral home in 1937 when Philip and Daniel MacLean purchased the post-Civil War home of General James Reilly, a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later a lawyer in Wellsville.

The MacLean Brothers originally founded their funeral home in Wellsville in 1881 after expanding their livery business that stabled, fed, and cared for horses on Main Street.

The chapel was later partnered as the Martin MacLean Altmeyer Funeral Homes Wellsville Chapel before eventually becoming part of the Care Chapel family.

This year the tour and paint-and sip session, which was led by Paint with T, was Halloween-themed and also included an upclose look at a tunnel that runs beneath the home that Householder said is rumored to be part of the Underground Railroad that is well known to have come through Wellsville.

“We love engaging with the community,” Householder said. “Our business is about serving the public and we feel blessed when we get the chance to open our doors and engage with the very community we are proud to be a part of. The MacLean Chapel really is a historic gem that should be shared and seen.”

But ultimately events like Sunday’s tour are meant to provide education and outreach.

“One of the main reasons that we hold this event and others like it is for pre-need arrangement information and to provide answers for questions concerning funerals, services and life insurance,” she said.

Greenaway and Care’s Tammy Clutter provided pre-arrangement informative talks.

The MacLean Chapel was also part of the Wellsville Community Foundation’s Historic Christmas Home Tour last year. Householder said the chapel plans to participate again this year.