Cathedral in the Pines - Fayetteville, PA - Outdoor Altars on Waymarking.com

The Caledonia campsite was created in 1916 by the Rev. Dr. Lewis C. Manges, a Harrisburg pastor, and his family when they began vacationing in tents at the park. In 1917, the family convinced their Harrisburg neighbors, Charles and Annie Moyer, to join them at the campsite for the summer. The two families had a total of 11 children.

The families enjoyed their summer bonding time. Because they were used to attending Sunday School, they decided to continue classes during their vacation by attending St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Fayetteville. They traveled by trolley, and a round trip at the time cost 10 cents per person. During the summer of 1917, they decided to avoid the cost of public transportation and hold their own services in their pine tree sanctuary.

There was a tourist camp where Totem Pole Playhouse is located today, and campers would come across the road for services. Later, campers and Caledonia residents who had cabins in the Michaux State Forest area were invited. Attendance grew to between 200 and 300 people each Sunday. Offerings were collected in plates made of hollowed-out tree trunk slices and donated to the Lutheran Church Board of Foreign Missions. The Manges and Moyer children wiped down benches, handed out hymn booklets and made hymn suggestions, and both families held positions of leadership.

In the 1940s, the Manges and Moyer families began building more permanent cottages to replace their tents. Descendants of the families still visit those cottages.

After World War I, in 1919 or 1920, a big bell was hung in a large pine tree next to the Manges’ cottage. Each Sunday, June through August, Annie Moyer would ring the bell to call everyone within hearing distance to Sunday School at 10:30 a.m. (visit link)

Material(s): wood Associated Religion or Church: Lutheran Website: [Web Link] Parking Coordinates: Not Listed

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