Shelter Island Heights was developed in 1871 as a summer resort for camp meetings, after a group of Brooklyn businessmen purchased the Frederick Chase estate for this purpose. It was developed by the Shelter Island Grove and Camp Meeting Association of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For eight years, the camp meetings took place on the island, before moving to Jamesport. During this time, Robert Morris Copeland designed the Union Chapel, built in 1875. In 1984 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).