{"nrhp_refnum":"87001560","name":"Lancaster Methodist Episcopal Camp Ground Historic District","other_names":["Lancaster Camp Ground"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Hocking River, W. Fair Ave., and Ety Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lancaster","county":"Fairfield County","state":"OH","lat":39.72764163450006,"lon":-82.63809836236484,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-09-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 45 acres on a wooded hill northwest of Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio, holding a Methodist camp meeting ground with cottages and large public buildings built between 1880 and 1930. The camp meetings began in 1878.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is an excellent, highly intact representation of the late 19th and early 20th century Methodist camp meeting movement. Its radial plan around a central auditorium, its campground cottage architecture and its history all reflect that movement. It is described as one of only two intact survivors of the campground concept in Ohio, the other being Lakeside.","narrative":"Lancaster Camp Ground occupies about 45 acres on a wooded hill northwest of Lancaster, Ohio. It grew from camp meetings organized by the Ohio Conference Camp Meeting Association, which chose the site in 1877 after flooding along the Hocking River troubled earlier locations. The first meeting took place in 1878, and 227 cottages were built within five years. Streets radiate from a central auditorium whose roof truss spans 120 feet without interior supports. Most cottages follow the classic campground form: gable front, one and a half stories, about twice as deep as wide, often with board and batten siding and Gothic Revival vergeboards. Larger buildings include the Temple, the Tabernacle, Hotel Woodside and a museum. Owners built the cottages themselves between 1880 and 1930, when construction largely stopped. The district was listed as an intact example of the Methodist camp meeting movement, and it is still used as a seasonal community, with some cottages now winterized.","period_of_significance":"c. 1878-1930","architect_builder":"Unknown; cottages were constructed by each owner","architectural_style":"Campground cottage form with modest Gothic Revival influence","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as a campground; many cottages serve as second homes and about a quarter have been winterized. Plans exist to restore the Hotel Woodside as a museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.322004-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/87001560.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988235","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/fairfield-county/lancaster-methodist-episcopal-camp-ground-historic-district-87001560/"}