Bentleyville Camp Meeting celebrates 150th year
Financial secretary and 52-year camp attendee Loretta Flinner sits in a church pew while she explains the history of the tabernacle and its more contemporary uses at Bentleyville Camp Meeting grounds.
Financial secretary and 52-year camp attendee Loretta Flinner looks through the archives of photographs at the Bentleyville Camp Meeting grounds Monday.
Interior view of the tabernacle, where daily services take place at the Bentleyville Camp Meeting Grounds. The group is having its 150th annual weeklong camp from Friday through July 14.
Two cottages sit on either side of the walkway leading to the tabernacle, where daily services take place at Bentleyville Camp Meeting grounds.
A view of the entrance to Bentleyville Camp Meeting grounds.
Financial secretary and 52-year camp attendee Loretta Flinner stands in a room at the camp that is a historic re-creation filled with furnishings consistent with those most likely used at the turn of the 19th century at the Bentleyville Camp Meeting Grounds.
BENTLEYVILLE – “It’s like I just walked back in time” is the most common remark visitors make when visiting Bentleyville Camp Meeting campground, according to the camp’s financial secretary, Loretta Flinner. Now celebrating its 150th year, the camp is reflecting on its past and looking forward to the future.
“Over 150 years, when you think back to a couple years after the Civil War, there’s a lot of history that has passed through Washington County and the whole United States,” Flinner said. “The camp, and the people that have come to the camp, have made some contribution to life in this area and beyond.”
While giving a tour of the historic campground, Flinner said campers from all over the country make the annual visit to Bentleyville to partake in a week’s worth of fellowship, leadership training and worship services. She expects about 150 people Friday for the first night of this year’s activities.
“It is a gathering place for people who are interested in getting closer to the Lord and getting to know him better,” Flinner said.
Founded in 1867 by a group of Methodists, the 20-acre campground was originally leased for 25 years and then purchased from Martha J. Stevens, daughter of town founder Sheshbazzar Bentley, in 1891. The camp continued to grow, and new facilities have been built over the decades.
At the center of the campsite is a large, outside tabernacle that was constructed in 1907. It seats 300 people and is used every morning and night for interdenominational worship, with live music accompaniment before and during each service.
A total of 18 cottages are scattered throughout the campground. For younger campers, the boys’ and girls’ dorms are fitted with bunk beds.
Guests also have the option to check into the onsite hotel that was constructed in 1949. One of the rooms, however, is off limits, as renovations are under way to make it appear as if it were at the turn on the 19th century, with furniture, bedding, carpet and wallpaper from the era already in place.
Downstairs, below the hotel, are the dining hall and kitchen, where daily homemade meals are prepared and served by volunteers. Teenagers are tasked with cleaning off tables and washing placemats, while adults prepare and cook the food. A snack store open throughout the day is attached to the dining hall and is frequented by many of the children.
Right outside the hotel and dining hall is a small building that originally was located at the entrance to the camp. Flinner said it was used to collect a fee to take care of the horses that would bring everyone in on carriages, but it has since been renovated into a prayer room. Staying true to the history the campsite has seen, a metal outline of a horse and buggy remains on the building’s side as a tribute to its original use.
A short distance up the hill behind the hotel is where the nursery and children’s tabernacle can be found. They were built to accommodate the younger children who attend every year.
Flinner explained that the addition of these buildings allows for a nearly stress-free week for parents who do not have to worry constantly about their children’s whereabouts or the safety of the campgrounds.
“When I came here with my six children, it was like heaven on earth,” Flinner recalled of her first visit to the camp in 1965. “I didn’t have to worry about where they were, what they were doing or if they were in the street.”
For Flinner, who is celebrating her 52nd year at camp with her husband, Jim, finding joy in coming back every year is never a challenge.
“It’s the fellowship, the preaching and the contributions I can make while being a volunteer,” Flinner said. “It’s the comfort of knowing that you have friendship and support.”
The Bentleyville Camp Meeting will take place at 5 Camp Meeting Ground Road in Bentleyville, beginning on Friday and continuing until July 14. The camp is open to people of all faiths and denominations. For more information, contact Flinner at 412-881-5035.