The Marion Historical Commission and the Sippican Historical Society will cohost a live presentation The Story of the Tremont Advent Camp Meeting on Thursday, March 21. Historic preservation consultant Lynn Smiledge will present the talk at the Marion Music Hall at 6:30 pm.
Have you ever noticed the little Tremont Advent Camp sign along Wareham Road near Hermitage Road? Here’s your chance to learn what it represents.
The Tremont Advent Campmeeting was established in 1861 by a group of Second Advent (or Advent) Christians. Their belief, expounded by revivalist Baptist preacher William Miller, was that the second coming, or Advent, of Jesus Christ was to take place in 1843. The Tremont Advent Campmeeting was originally located in the Tremont section of Wareham, hence its name. When the Wareham camp was completely destroyed in a fire on March 31, 1905 they chose the property on Hammett’s Cove. The first Marion Campmeeting was held there July 25-August 6, 1905.
By the mid-19th century, seasonal revival camp meetings had become a common fixture in the landscape of America. Located in the countryside and often on bodies of water, campgrounds included permanent buildings for common use such as dormitories, kitchens, dining halls and assembly rooms and eventually individual residential cottages. These revival meetings featured charismatic speakers and were punctuated with enthusiastic hymn singing. Plentiful food and a wide range of recreational activities were also mainstay aspects of camp meeting life. Camp meetings were described by Transcendentalist philosopher and poet Henry David Thoreau as “a singular combination of a prayer-meeting and a picnic.” They reached their greatest popularity between the Civil War and World War I.
Only a handful of these camp meetings still survive in Massachusetts, the most well-known being the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association established by a Methodist congregation in 1835 in Oak Bluffs. The campground there is a National Historic Landmark, known for its colorful and elaborately-decorated Gothic Revival and Queen Anne-style cottages.
Located adjacent to Hammett’s Cove, the 10+ acre site of Camp Marion and most of the original cottages and other buildings remain largely as constructed during the first quarter of the 20th century. Of the 43 buildings, 19 are Association-owned and the rest are in private ownership on Association-owned land. According to consultant Lynn Smiledge, “This resource is important as an intact example of the layout and built fabric of one of the camp meetings so prevalent across New England in the second half of the 19th century.”
The Camp meeting in Marion has remained in continuous operation since 1905. Every summer, campers of all ages still come to Marion from across New England and beyond. Family Camp meeting Week is the highlight of the season. It is framed by Little Sunday and Big Sunday, the first and last days of the camp meeting week. Other formal sessions include camp weeks for children, youths (age 8-17), and adults.
Come learn more about this interesting facet of Marion history on Thursday, March 21.