CAMP MEETING – A FREE METHODIST TRADITION

Researched by Dale Reynolds
Updated by Bill Elford

Camp meeting was essentially an American tradition established by the Methodist Church.  The first camp meeting in America was a joint Presbyterian and Methodist project held in Kentucky in 1800.

The first Methodist camp meeting in Canada was held at Adolphustown (west of Kingston, Ontario) in 1805.  On the first Saturday of camp over 2500 people were in attendance.

It is understandable that Free Methodists would continue with this very successful type of evangelistic effort.  They held camp meetings in the United States before coming to Canada.

The first Free Methodist camp meeting in Canada was held at Hannon, Ontario (near Hamilton, Ontario).  Equipment was simple – a platform was constructed for the preacher and the congregation faced the preacher using the ground for their pews.  Campers lived in board tents as canvas tents were not available.  Platforms covered with sod were raised and fires were set on top of these platforms to provide light for the services.

Camp meetings became a popular feature of each district of the Canadian Free Methodist Church and usually lasted for ten days.  As recently as 1935, the attendance at Harrowsmith Camp (near Kingston, Ontario) was estimated at five thousand.

Camp meetings in the Toronto District of the Free Methodist Church started in 1882 with the first camp held at what is now known as Scarborough, Ontario.  The early camps in the Toronto-Newmarket area were made popular by the large tent used for church services.  The floor of the large tent was covered with wood shavings and provided the children with lots to do during services.  People who attended, stayed in canvas tents that they rented from the camp.  Meals for those who attended were cooked on a common wood stove positioned near the center of the camp.  Most everyone shared the stove but occasionally when one returned to check on their food, they found it on the back burner with someone else’s food on the front burner.  Lighting was provided by kerosene lanterns which were a great improvement over the earlier lighting system used by the pioneers.

From 1882 until the early 1900’s the camps were held in different locations each year.  Prior to 1947, Free Methodist camp meetings of the Toronto District were held at Ravenshoe, Baldwin, Toronto, Armadale, Uxbridge, Belhaven, and Anchor Park in Holland Landing.

The present camp was sponsored by the Toronto District of the Free Methodist Church.  It is called Pine Orchard Camp.  The camp is located about ten kilometers east of Newmarket on Vivian Road between Woodbine Avenue and Highway 48.

Pine Orchard Camp was purchased from Ross Thompson in 1947 for five thousand dollars.  Timber was cut from the property and a sawmill was brought onto the grounds to cut the logs into lumber.  The sale of the lumber paid for the property.

A large tent with shavings on the floor was used for the church services at Pine Orchard until 1948.  In 1949, a permanent building called a tabernacle was constructed for all religious services.  The floor of the tabernacle was covered with wood shavings until 1968.  A concrete floor was poured for the fifty foot by one hundred foot building at that time.

The early camps were ten days of religious services.  The camps were closed for the rest of the year.  The tradition of a ten-day Family Camp is still a great favourite, but many other activities keep the camp open from early May until September.  In the past, a one-day winter activity, fondly known as the Snowflake Festival, was held each year in February.  Pine Orchard Camp proudly offers activities that include Kids’ Camp (formerly C.Y.C. Camp), Family Camp, Day Camp, Sunday School Picnics, Conventions, Family Reunions, Youth Retreats, and a Fall Fundraising Dinner.

The need for a swimming pool was recognized and in 1987, the Kevin Street Memorial Pool was opened in time for that year’s Kids’ Camp and a picnic shelter was constructed the following year.

A fundraiser for a new dining hall was held at a camp reunion the weekend of May 31 and June 1, 1991.  The dining hall was completed, and its opening ceremony was held on August 8, 2014.

Pine Orchard Camp has successfully met the needs of the past generations and the great need now is to expand the facilities to meet the needs of society in the new millennium.