Balls Creek Campground
Balls Creek Campground | |
![]() Balls Creek Campground, July 2010 | |
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Location | West side of SR 1003, 0.1 miles (0.16 km) south of SR 1943, near |
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Coordinates | 35°37′46″N 81°05′50″W / 35.62944°N 81.09722°WCoordinates: 35°37′46″N 81°05′50″W / 35.62944°N 81.09722°W |
Area | 31.1 acres (12.6 ha) |
MPS | Catawba County MPS |
NRHP reference No. | 90000662[1] |
Added to NRHP | April 27, 1990 |
Balls Creek Campground is a historic Methodist camp meeting and national historic district located near Bandy's Crossroads, Catawba County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 138 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site. They include the Arbor (c. 1930), "tents" (individual family dwellings) dating back to the 1850s, a store called "The Shack" (c. 1940), and jail dated to the late-19th / early-20th century. The site was established in 1853 and is believed to be one of the largest religious campgrounds in the southern United States.[2] A camp meeting continues to be held there every August, with "tents" selling for as much as $65,000 each.[3]
The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[1]
On September 29, 2019, a "suspicious" fire destroyed or damaged 40 of the site's 295 cabins and elicited the response of more than 14 fire departments and over 100 firefighters from Catawba and surrounding counties.[4]
See also[]
- Pleasant Grove Camp Meeting Ground
- Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association
- Center Arbor
- Chapel Hill Church Tabernacle
References[]
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Barbara Kooiman and Michael Hill (July 1989). "Balls Creek Campground" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
- ^ "Balls Creek Campmeeting is tradition, way of life and memories | The Observer News Enterprise". www.observernewsonline.com. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
- ^ Esposito, Gina; Faherty, Dave. "Investigators: Fire at historic campground set; no arrests made". WSOC TV.
External links[]
- Campgrounds in the United States
- Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina
- Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in North Carolina
- 1853 establishments in North Carolina
- Buildings and structures in Catawba County, North Carolina
- National Register of Historic Places in Catawba County, North Carolina
- Temporary populated places on the National Register of Historic Places
- Catawba County, North Carolina Registered Historic Place stubs