{"nrhp_refnum":"83001845","name":"Camp Ground Methodist Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Camp Ground Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Fayetteville","county":"Cumberland County","state":"NC","lat":35.06793059700004,"lon":-78.97244321099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A mid-nineteenth-century frame Methodist church built between 1858 and 1862, about four miles west of downtown Fayetteville, Cumberland County, North Carolina, on a site overlooking Beaver Creek.","why_significant":"The site began as an antebellum camp meeting ground, linking it to the religious development of Fayetteville and North Carolina Methodism. The gable-front, double-entrance building with simple Greek Revival finish reflects vernacular North Carolina church forms and local craftsmanship.","narrative":"Camp Ground Methodist Church is a weatherboarded frame church built between 1858 and 1862 on a rise above Beaver Creek, roughly four miles west of downtown Fayetteville. The site was first used for camp meetings, or revivals, in the years before the Civil War, and an 1858 deed describes a church, graveyard and arbor already there. The present building has a rectangular plan, a plain pedimented gable front, two front doors and a standing seam tin roof. Inside, a gallery runs along three sides, and a pressed tin ceiling was added later. Tradition credits church member James Christopher Vaughn as builder and his brother Ruffin Vaughn with the pulpit and pews, though members may have raised the building together. Circuit riders served the church until the 1950s. A larger modern sanctuary now occupies the site, and the old church sits a few yards away beside the cemetery. It is listed for its ties to Methodist religious history and for its vernacular architecture.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"James Christopher Vaughn","architectural_style":"Vernacular North Carolina church form with simple Greek Revival finish","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Good condition; the original church was moved about eighty feet in 1962 to make room for a new sanctuary and is used for special occasions. The congregation remains active.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.05596-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/93/7175/47717593/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/83001845.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001845/4b06d01520-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83001845/4b06d01520-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Epicjeff","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_H._Owen_Chapel_-_Formerly_Camp_Ground_United_Methodist_Church.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Epicjeff</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_H._Owen_Chapel_-_Formerly_Camp_Ground_United_Methodist_Church.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47717593","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Ground_Methodist_Church","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5027220"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/cumberland-county/camp-ground-methodist-church-83001845/"}