Des Plaines Methodist Camp Ground

Des Plaines Methodist Camp Ground is a thirty-five acre village in the woods on the eastern edge of Des Plaines, Illinois, about twenty miles northwest of downtown Chicago. Tabernacles, cottages and public buildings line narrow sidewalks and streets arranged around a central circle, where the Waldorf Tabernacle serves as the spiritual heart. Wesley Tabernacle, in the southern part, was used by Swedish-speaking members. Most of the 121 contributing buildings are white-painted, 1-1/2 story wood-frame cottages with gable roofs, built between 1865 and the 1920s using balloon-frame construction. They were built quickly and cheaply to house families or church groups during week-long summer meetings. The first Des Plaines camp meeting took place in 1860 near the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, which helped bring thousands of attendees. The site was moved and laid out in its present form in 1865 and has been used every summer since. Its plan and cottage type reflect the Methodist camp meeting tradition.