L 68 PLEASANT GROVE CAMP GROUND
Posted by: 
NCDaywalker
N 34° 56.292 W 080° 40.125
17S E 530250 N 3866239
The first camp meeting at the site that would come to be known as Pleasant Grove is believed to have taken place in 1829.
Waymark Code: WMM1AA
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 07/01/2014
Views: 2
Marker ID: L 68
Marker text:
PLEASANT GROVE CAMP GROUND
Methodist. Established before 1830 and still in use. Noted for unusual "arbor" and "tents." 1 1/4 miles northwest.
Essay:
Religious camp meetings took root in early nineteenth century frontier communities. In areas where inhabitants lacked the resources necessary to build a permanent church, the camp grounds, often featuring simple wooded arbors, were ideal places of worship. In sparsely settled regions, the camp ground, as its name implies, offered a place for the worshippers to pitch tents. Camp meetings also offered congregants the opportunity to socialize, a relief from the isolation and monotony of frontier life.
The first camp meeting at the site that would come to be known as Pleasant Grove is believed to have taken place in 1829. The following year, area residents decided to establish a Methodist camp ground in the idyllic pastoral setting replete with three natural springs. Nine trustees purchased twenty-four acres of land and hired John C. Rape to build a formal arbor. Tradition holds that Rape was unable to complete the work for the amount of money allotted, so local men offered assistance. George Allison Winchester is credited with the construction of the hipped roof structure. Winchester returned to Pleasant Grove Camp Ground to blow the trumpet announcing services for the next sixty-two years.
Families who regularly attended camp meetings maintained “tents” constructed of poles or hewn logs. When the camp ground was abandoned in 1902, all but one of the original tents were dismantled. Pleasant Grove Camp Ground was rejuvenated in 1915 and many new tents were constructed, with the old tent remodeled as a museum. The arbor was restored in 1988 with historical accuracy, using tools and materials that would have been used by the nineteenth century craftsmen. One of the few extant religious campgrounds remaining in North Carolina, the site is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Location: NC 75 at SR 1327 (Camp Ground Road) in Mineral Springs
County: Union
Casting: 1962-P
Marker Name: L 68 PLEASANT GROVE CAMP GROUND
Marker Type: Roadside
Related Web Link: [Web Link]
Required Waymark Photo: yes
Local North Carolina markers without State Number Designation: Not listed
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