{"nrhp_refnum":"12000608","name":"Mt. Gretna Campmeeting Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by PA 117, Pinch Rd., Bell Ave., & 1st St. (West Cornwall Township)","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mt. Gretna Heights","county":"Lebanon County","state":"PA","lat":40.25276882300005,"lon":-76.46863013374734,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2012-09-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A residential-resort community of 228 cottages in West Cornwall Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, laid out around an open-sided circular Tabernacle; the grounds were opened as a United Brethren campmeeting in 1892.","why_significant":"The district is significant as a late 19th-century religious campmeeting community whose cottages, grid-like street layout and central Tabernacle reflect the intent of its founders. The document argues that the cottages retain their original character and that the district keeps its setting, feeling and association. The 1899 Tabernacle, built by John Cilley with an unsupported roof, is described as the dominant feature.","narrative":"Mt. Gretna Campmeeting is a summer residential community in West Cornwall Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, begun in 1892 when the United Brethren opened a campmeeting on about thirty wooded acres. Its 228 cottages, most built between 1890 and 1915, are stick-built frame houses by local carpenters, often on small 20 by 24 foot lots set close together. Many show Gothic Revival, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival features, and the earliest examples stand at the northern end of the grounds. The centrepiece is the open-sided circular Tabernacle, built in 1899 by John Cilley, which is 45 feet high, has a roof 300 feet in circumference, and has no interior supporting posts. Its roof thrust is carried to 23 chestnut posts at the rim. The Tabernacle still hosts the weekly Bible Festival programs, and the grounds keep their historic street pattern, cottage relationships and wooded setting.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Cilley (Tabernacle, 1899; builder and engineer)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Gothic, Queen Anne, Shingle Style; Late 19th & 20th Century Revivals: Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Tabernacle still in regular use for summer programs; the three hand pumps are no longer operational.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:10:27.202063-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/12000608.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998683","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/lebanon-county/mt-gretna-campmeeting-historic-district-12000608/"}