The Marion Historical Commission is pleased to announce that the Tremont Advent Christian Camp Meeting Association property on Oakdale Avenue has received a Determination of Eligibility for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. This preliminary approval was made recently by the Massachusetts Historical Commission following a unanimous vote of support by the Tremont Association Board of Directors.
The origins of this particular camp meeting lie in the 1860s in the Tremont section of Wareham.
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.
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 here July 25-August 6, 1905.
The first buildings were constructed between 1906 and 1911, and most of the extant camp buildings were erected by the mid-1920s. Hurricanes in 1938, 1954, and 1991, and a windstorm in 1944 had various effects on the campground, including necessitating the relocation several of the cottages, including 23 and 35 Oakdale Ave. The dining hall was destroyed in the 1954 hurricane; its successor was destroyed in 2015 and was replaced in 2019. Many of the cottages remain in the families of those who constructed them.
The MHC noted that the property is eligible for the National Register at the local and possibly state levels in the area of Religion for its association with the Protestant Camp Meeting Movement, and also derives its primary architectural and historical importance as a significant and distinguishable entity, even while its components lack individual distinction.
With this eligibility opinion, the preparation of a National Register nomination will now commence. The Marion Historical Commission has contracted with preservation consultant, Eric Dray, to complete the nomination. The project is being funded with Community Preservation funds. Submission of the final nomination papers is anticipated for summer, 2026, after which the MHC submits it to the National Park Service for final approval.