Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District

Last updated
Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District
ChesterCampground.JPG
Chester Heights Camp Meeting, November 2009
USA Pennsylvania location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location320 Valley Brook Rd., Chester Heights, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 39°53′24″N75°28′03″W / 39.89000°N 75.46750°W / 39.89000; -75.46750 Coordinates: 39°53′24″N75°28′03″W / 39.89000°N 75.46750°W / 39.89000; -75.46750
Area30.9 acres (12.5 ha)
Built1872
Architectural styleGothic Revival, Queen Anne
NRHP reference No. 01000460 [1]
Added to NRHPMay 8, 2001

The Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District is a historic Methodist camp meeting and national historic district located in Chester Heights, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 101 contributing buildings, which were designed in the vernacular camp meeting style of architecture; additional notable examples of the Gothic Revival and Queen Anne styles also are present here. Public buildings include the contributing Tabernacle (1878), Dining Hall (1900), Youth Tabernacle (1909, and dormitory. Most of the contributing buildings are cottages, which were built roughly between 1876 and 1920. [2]

Contents

In two separate incidents in 2011 and early 2012, the Tabernacle and multiple cottages were burned in arson incidents. [3] In 2016 part of the property was sold to be developed as an apartment complex. [4]

History

In 1872, an association of Methodists purchased land and incorporated under the title Chester-Heights Camp-Meeting Association. [5]

Placement of this district on the National Register of Historic Places

The NRHP nomination application for the Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District was formally reviewed by Pennsylvania's Historic Preservation Board at its March 13, 2001 meeting at 9:45 a.m. at the State Museum in Harrisburg. Also considered for NRHP status at this time were the: Protection of the Flag Monument in Athens, Pennsylvania; Normandy Farm, George K. Heller School, and Upper Roxborough Historic District in Montgomery County; Awbury Historic District and Harris/Laird, Schober & Company Building in Philadelphia; Michael Derstine Farmstead in Bucks County; John Nicholas and Elizabeth Moyer House in Berks County; William Shelly School and Annex in York County; and the Zeta Psi Fraternity House in Northampton County. [6]

The Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District was then officially added to the National Register of Historic Places later in 2001. [1]

Later history

In 2011 and early 2012, the Tabernacle and multiple cottages were burned in two separate arson incidents. [3] In 2016 part of the property was sold to be developed as an apartment complex. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ercildoun, Pennsylvania</span> United States historic place

Ercildoun, population about 100, is an unincorporated community in East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The hamlet was founded by Quakers and was an early center of the abolitionist movement. In 1985 the entire hamlet, including 31 properties, was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Of these properties two were vacant land, 14 were significant buildings, ten were contributing buildings, and five buildings, built in the 1950s, were non-contributing. The Lukens Pierce House, an octagon house listed separately on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, is located about half a mile northwest of the hamlet. Ercildoun is one of about ten hamlets in the township, which has no cities or towns, but has 31 sites listed on the National Register. It is one of the larger hamlets, located near the center of the township, and historically among the best known. The city of Coatesville is about 3 miles north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yarmouth Camp Ground Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Yarmouth Camp Ground Historic District is a historic district encompassing a religious summer camp meeting ground in Yarmouth and Barnstable, Massachusetts. The core of the camp ground was purchased in 1863 by the Sandwich District Camp Meeting Association, a Methodist Episcopal organization, and was operated until 1939. The area contains a well-preserved collection of predominantly residential buildings built during this period; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awbury Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Awbury Historic District is a historic area in the East Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It encompasses the former summer homes and farms of the extended Cope family, who moved to the area starting in 1849 and the entire Awbury Arboretum, which occupies most of the district's area, as well as adjacent properties developed and occupied by Henry Cope (1793-1865), son and successor to prominent Philadelphia Orthodox Quaker merchant Thomas Pym Cope (1768-1854), his close relatives, and his descendants. The district, which has been described by Philadelphia area historians as "visually distinct from the densely-built urban blocks that surround it on three sides, and from the level, open landscape of the city park to the northwest," features buildings which were designed in the Gothic Revival, Italian Villa, Queen Anne, Tudor Revival, Shingle, and Colonial Revival styles of architecture between 1849 and 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilpen Hall</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Wilpen Hall is an estate in Sewickley Heights, Pennsylvania, located at 889–895 Blackburn Road and 201 Scaife Road. Built for William Penn Snyder and his wife during the late 19th century, it was added to the List of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks in 2001, and the National Register of Historic Places on April 20, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeta Psi Fraternity House at Lafayette College</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The Zeta Psi Fraternity House at Lafayette College is a historic house located on the campus of Lafayette College in Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The house was built by the Tau Chapter of the Zeta Psi fraternity between 1909 and 1910 and is a 2+12-story, nine bay wide, rock-faced granite building with a dormered hipped roof. It features a heavy eave cornice, prominent chimney stacks, and projecting facade pavilions. The interior reflects both Colonial Revival and Arts and Crafts influenced in its design and detailing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Shelly School and Annex</span> United States historic place

The William Shelly School and Annex, also known as the Eberton School, is a historic school building and annex located in West York, York County, Pennsylvania. Built circa 1897, the Shelly Annex was initially designed as a one-room school, but was then enlarged twice between 1898 and 1903 to become a 2 1/2-story, gable roofed brick building which is three bays wide and seven bays deep. Built between 1905 and 1908, the Shelly School was designed in the Italian Renaissance style, and is a two-story brick structure which is nine bays wide and seven bays deep. Completely rebuilt following a fire in 1919, the property was sold in 1960; the buildings were then utilized as storage facilities for the next 37 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protection of the Flag Monument</span> United States historic place

The Protection of the Flag Monument is a historic war memorial located in Academy Park at 715 South Main Street in Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Designed in the Classical Revival style by the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, with a sculpture by George Thomas Brewster, it was erected between 1900 and 1902, and has a granite pedestal topped by a bronze sculpture group. The sculpture depicts an adult soldier and a young drummer boy attired in Revolutionary War clothing and protecting their flag from falling into enemy hands. A commemorative plaque indicates it was dedicated in memory of the soldiers who fought in defense of the flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandywine Summit Camp Meeting</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Brandywine Summit Camp Meeting is a historic camp meeting and national historic district located at Concord Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The rural setting drew Methodists from nearby Wilmington, Delaware and West Chester. The district includes 76 contributing buildings near Chadds Ford village. The buildings are in a vernacular camp meeting style of architecture. The centerpiece of the community are the Tabernacle, built about 1884, and Pavilion, also dated to the 1880s. Most of the contributing buildings are cottages, built after the turn of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newville Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Newville Historic District is a national historic district which is located in Newville, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The district is bordered roughly by Cove Alley, Big Spring Creek, the right-of-way for the Cumberland Valley Railroad, and Washington Street, and encompasses 414 contributing buildings, one contributing site, and two contributing objects in the central business district and surrounding residential areas of Newville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George K. Heller School</span> United States historic place

The George K. Heller School, also known as the Cheltenham Center for the Arts, is a historic school building located in Ashmead Village, Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was originally built in 1883 to house the first Cheltenham High School, and expanded in 1893 and 1906. Later additions took place between 1963 and 1969, after it was converted to the Cheltenham Center for the Arts. The stone school building ranges from 1 1/2- to 2 1/2-stories and has intersecting gable roofs. The roof is topped by a square cupola. A school was located on this site as early as 1795 and it was considered the oldest public school site in continuous use at the time of its closing in 1953.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Roxborough Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Upper Roxborough Historic District is a national historic district located in Philadelphia and Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses 108 contributing buildings, 23 contributing sites, and 18 contributing structures in Upper Roxborough. The district includes a number of small scale farm and industrial workers' housing, estate houses, mill-owners' dwellings, and farm buildings. Notable buildings include the Shawmont Railroad Station (1834), Miquon Station designed by Frank Furness (1910), Riverside Paper Mills, Hagy's Mill ruin, St. Mary's Church, and "Fairview" and other buildings on the grounds of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education. The Roxborough Pumping Station was also part of the district, but it was demolished in 2011 after sitting abandoned for over fifty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tindley Temple United Methodist Church</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

Tindley Temple United Methodist Church, also known as Tindley Temple Methodist Episcopal Church and Calvary United Methodist Church, is a historic Methodist Episcopal church located in the Southwest Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1923 and 1928, and is a large masonry building influenced by the Beaux-Arts Romanesque and Art Deco styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Nicholas and Elizabeth Moyer House</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

The John Nicholas and Elizabeth Moyer House, also known as "Richland," is a historic home located in Jefferson Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Built circa 1817, it is a 2+12-story, four-over-four stone dwelling. A stone summer kitchen, which was built between 1818 and 1820, is attached to the rear. Frame additions were added in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hamburg Historic District (Hamburg, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Hamburg Historic District is a national historic district located in Hamburg, Berks County, Pennsylvania. The district encompasses 435 contributing buildings in the borough of Hamburg, and is bordered, roughly, by Franklin, Windsor, Walnut, and Second Streets; Quince, Primrose, Peach, and Plum Alleys; and Mill Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quakertown Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Quakertown Historic District is a historic district which includes most of Quakertown, Pennsylvania. It encompasses, 386 acres and 2,197 contributing buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hopewell Farm</span> United States historic place

The Hopewell Farm, also known as Lower Farm and Hopedell Farm, is a historic home and farm located at 1751 Valley Road in Valley Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The 500-acre farm complex has six contributing buildings, one contributing site, and six contributing structures. The buildings and property were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hatfield–Hibernia Historic District</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

Hatfield–Hibernia Historic District is a national historic district located in West Brandywine Township and West Caln Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 19 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site in a rural area of western Chester County. The district includes lands one associated with the Hatfield Mansion and Estate. Notable buildings include a number of early 19th-century worker's houses, a number of cottages associated with the Hibernia House, and Hibernia Methodist Church (1841). The contributing site is the ruins of a grist mill. The district includes the separately listed Hibernia House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montrose Historic District (Montrose, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic district in Pennsylvania, United States

The Montrose Historic District is a national historic district located in Montrose, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. The district encompasses 386 contributing buildings and two contributing sites in the central business district and surrounding residential areas of Montrose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ebenezer Campground</span> United States historic place

The Ebenezer Campground is a historic Methodist summer camp meeting site in rural Howard County, Arkansas. Established in 1854, it is one of the oldest camp meeting sites in Arkansas. It is located in a forest clearing off Arkansas Highway 4 north of Center Point. It has six major structures: a tabernacle, three dormitories, and two minister's cabins. Although all of these structures were built in the 1940s or later, they were built using construction methods reminiscent of previous structures at the camp, and are roughly in the same locations. The tabernacle is a large open structure with a tin roof supported by square posts. The minister's cabins are modest one-room cabins finished with vertical pine boards. The dormitories are long rectangular structures subdivided into areas called "tents". Each "tent" consists of four rooms separated by a breezeway. Three of these rooms serve as bedrooms, while the fourth, which is open on two sides, serves as a dining area. Attached to each "tent" is a shed-roofed kitchen and cooking area. The dormitories have no windows, only openings cut into the horizontal clapboard siding to provide light and ventilation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasant Grove Camp Meeting Ground</span> Historic district in North Carolina, United States

The Pleasant Grove Camp Meeting Ground is a historic Methodist camp meeting national historic district located near Waxhaw, Union County, North Carolina. The district encompasses four contributing buildings and one contributing site. The main building is the arbor that dates to 1830. It is an 80 feet long by 60 feet wide open sided frame structure with a gable roof surround on all four sides by pent roof extensions. Located nearby are the church and former schoolhouse, now used as the preacher's dwelling, and the old cemetery.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System.Note: This includes Robert J. Wise, Jr. (December 2000). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  3. 1 2 Scharr, Cindy. "Cops: Chester Heights Camp Meeting fire ignited by burning American flags, leaves". www.delcotimes.com. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 Stark, Kenn. "Chester Heights protests apartment proposal with record turnout". www.delconewsnetwork.com. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  5. Ashmeade, Henry Graham (1884). History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: L.H. Everts & Co. p.  301 . Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  6. Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District, in "Historical and Museum Commission: National Register Nominations to be Considered by the Historic Preservation Board," in Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol. 31, No. 6, February 10, 2001, p. 893. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, retrieved online October 12, 2019.