I had seen other photographers work of this location, I was not prepared for what I found. Mine will probably fall short of it’s simple grandeur.
Religious camp meetings are the ‘ole time revival’ tent meetings. Only a permanent location. The first camp meeting here was held nearby in Indians Fields, 1801. This campground was built and first used in 1848. Since then it has held camp a week out of every year (it was shorter during the civil war, people were busy).
The tabernacle is a wooden pavilion (new roof) that seats 1,000 people, in the center of an octagon. It is surrounded by 99 wooden ‘tents’. The camp design and layout follows the old testament book of Leviticus, ’99 wood tents and a tabernacle’.
The campground was placed on the US National Register Of Historic Places in 1973.
The grounds are in a very rural location. A circular dirt road winds around the camp. If you look at these photographs (and more to come) you will see everything is open, no walls, high rafter ceilings. The floors are straw / dirt.
Now… there was not a single birds nest, spider web, dust, or any type of animal to be seen. This is in the woods. The local Methodist church must clean and maintain every building, constantly.
I’m not sure how big the overall camp is, but huge works for me.
Beautiful interior shots. Still used today?
Camp meeting is a once a year, every year thing. In use now since 1848 with no misses, just not a full week in around 1862 – 1865, the civil war years. I have many more shots of the wooden ‘tent’ buildings. An incredible find. We knew of it, but stumbled on the location Sunday.
Great find. I especially like the image with the grasses in the front.
I also shot the ‘tents’ 😀
Incredible!
Yes !!
Ted,
I love these images.
I have a real interest in the ‘camp meet” movement. My wife and I own a cottage at Pine Grove CT which started as a Methodist camp meet ground: first with tents only, later platforms for tents – special tents were developed, tall and roomy with steep roofs – in a circle, still later cottages that followed the form of the tents. At Pine Grove a great reverence for nature was inculcated at the very beginning: The circular road outside of the structures was carefully woven around trees so that no tree had to be felled. As the cottages developed they followed the concept and were often built around standing trees. They were built with plentiful bunk bedding and communal outdoor kitchens out back – to cook for and accommodate a crowd. We keep a reminder of this tradition in that owners of larger corteges are “sort of” expected to take on guests and host larger gatherings. Pine Grove also keeps some of its religious origination by maintaining its original chapel, which is use with multi denominational services during the summer season.
Dave, Hi hope all is well. Did not know Pine Grove started as a camp, did not know there were any in CT! Have you seen the other articles and photos here on the camp?
This camp followed the design in Ecclesiastes (Bible). 99 tents (as you described) all built around a hexagon tabernacle.
My regards to all
Now I’m not sure what part of the old testament was the design…