You may have attended one when you were growing up. In fact, you may have gone to a retreat or meeting at one in recent years. Baptists have encampments all over the state of Texas. I believe our oldest is Palacios By The Sea which dates back more than a hundred years. Alto Frio in the Hill Country is one of our oldest and most popular campgrounds. In my home state of Arkansas we had one campground for the state when I was a boy. It was at Siloam Springs. Those campground experiences have been life-changing for thousands through the years.
Ann and I discovered on our trip the most unusual campground we have ever seen. It began in 1835 in a grove of trees in Trinity Park at Martha's Vineyard by the Methodists. Tents were first used with dividers down the middle for men and women. Soon congregations began to come from all over for a week of spiritual refreshment during the summer. The place became known as Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting. Stores, hotels, and small homes began to be built as this grew to be an all-summer campground. Row after row of "gingerbread" houses began to be built by individual families. An open-air tabernacle with beautiful stained glass around the top was constructed for worship. It could seat thousands. A smaller Trinity United Methodist Church was built in the mid 1800's so they could have year-round worship. It is still there and having services. The tabernacle also remains and is used in the summer for a summer camp.
As the years passed more and more campers built permanent cottages with cupolas, spires, turrets and even second and third floors. Thousands of people were coming for these summer gatherings. In 1874 President Ulysses Grant came and attended a service. He was asked to give up his flask of whiskey. He did. At the worship service he had a "spiritual experience".
These cottages that were hand-built still exist and are beautifully maintained. There are porches with rocking-chairs and colorful flower boxes and hanging baskets. Houses that were built at the cost of a few hundred dollars now sell for hundreds of thousands. To walk through this campground is like a visit to a magic wonderland! The paint and trim is colorful and different with each house. It is simply indescribable! You have to see it, or see the beautiful pictures. I think you might be able to see a bit through your computer by going to Martha's Vineyard Campground.com
It became a tradition to have Illumination Night on the last evening of summer camp. Japanese lanterns were hung out and there were "open houses" for families and friends. The tradition continues but the date is not announced for they simply cannot handle the crowds. There are hundreds of these "gingerbread" houses. They will take your breath away if you like that sort of thing. I stood in that old open-air cathedral which was silent in the Fall afternoon. The pews were packed away as was the piano and organ, but I could hear the singing of thousands and the voices of great preachers sharing the gospel without aid of microphones or video. What a glorious past! God only knows how many found their way to heaven at that wonderful place at Martha's Vineyard on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. It was the surprise highlight of our trip, even surpassing the marvelous display of Fall colors.
