Camp Ben McCulloch

Camp Ben McCulloch is a 40-acre campground shaded by oaks along Onion Creek near Driftwood, in northwest Hays County. Hays County Confederate veterans organized in 1896, bought land for a permanent reunion ground in 1904, and have gathered there every year since, apart from 1918. The reunions grew into the county's major social event, open to the public and drawing more than 5,000 people in the early 1950s. The oldest building is an open-sided tabernacle from about 1904, remodeled by the Works Progress Administration in 1935 with an Alamo-style stone front. Other WPA work includes entrance pillars, roads, steps to the spring, shelters now used for storage and restrooms, and concrete picnic tables inscribed with the names of Confederate veterans. A concrete dance arena was added in the late 1940s, and a pavilion in 1989. The grounds and layout have changed little since the 1930s, and the camp is recognized for its role in recreation and social life in Central Texas.