if these Camps could talk
Camp
History
Long Point
A Historical Overview
About this photo: In 1906 Robert and Katherine Anderson of Princeton, New Jersey purchased “Cliff Cottage” from the Sargent family of Bristol and renamed it “The Princeton.” Mr. and Mrs. Anderson owned the cottage until 1915. It was taken down and rebuilt in 2007-2008.
Historical Downloads
The story of Long Point's history, along with historical photos, has been compiled by John Leidy and divided into two parts.
Our Name
Were we once known as “Camp Meeting Point”?
If you’ve been around Long Point for a while, you may have heard it said that Long Point was the site of religious camp meetings in the “old days” and used to be called “Camp Meeting Point.” Is that true? Having spent quite a bit of time researching the issue, I can tell you that the answer to this question is… well, it’s complicated.
Camp meetings were a part of Christian religious life in America throughout the nineteenth century, especially among Methodists. They were outdoor gatherings of preaching and prayer that lasted several days, during which the participants usually camped out at the meeting site. Open areas such as farmland, forests, and lakeshores were all used for such gatherings.
Camp meetings were occurring in Vermont beginning in the first decade of the 1800’s, usually led by ministers as they traveled around their “circuit.”
No evidence has come to light that such camp meetings occurred in the vicinity of Long Point prior to the Civil War, though records giving the locations of camp meetings during that period are incomplete.
Following the Civil War, camp meetings were increasingly held under the auspices of local districts of the Methodist church. In the summer of 1868 the Ball family, owners of the Long Point property, allowed use of the end of the Point for the official camp meeting of the Burlington District of the Methodist church. This meeting reportedly brought in 1,200 to 1,500 people over the course of six days, largely from the area between Burlington and Rutland. The railroad station, that was at that time on today’s Long Point Rd. had opened in the early 1850’s, and Long Point was thus fairly accessible.
When Was My Camp Built?
What year was my camp constructed? This common historical inquiry can be answered by referring to this download, which provides the most accurate construction dates for each cottage on Long Point. The sources for these dates include lease documents, tax records, newspaper articles, or information from the builder. A date marked with an asterisk indicates that it has been verified. See color key on Page 2.
A special thank you to John Leidy for researching and sharing this data.
