The Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District is a historic

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

camp meeting The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier d ...

and national

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

located in

Chester Heights Chester Heights is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,531 at the 2010 census. Most of the borough lies south of U.S. 1, about a mile southwest of Wawa. History The history of Chester Heights predates ...

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the List of counties in Pennsylvan ...

. The district includes 101 contributing buildings, which were designed in the vernacular

style of architecture; additional notable examples of the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

and Queen Anne styles also are present here. Public buildings include the contributing

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

(1878), Dining Hall (1900), Youth Tabernacle (1909, and dormitory. Most of the contributing buildings are cottages, which were built roughly between 1876 and 1920. ''Note:'' This includes In two separate incidents in 2011 and early 2012, the Tabernacle and multiple cottages were burned in arson incidents. In 2016 part of the property was sold to be developed as an apartment complex.

History

In 1872, an association of Methodists purchased land and incorporated under the title Chester-Heights Camp-Meeting Association.

Placement of this district on the National Register of Historic Places

The NRHP nomination application for the Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District was formally reviewed by Pennsylvania's Historic Preservation Board at its March 13, 2001 meeting at 9:45 a.m. at the State Museum in Harrisburg. Also considered for NRHP status at this time were the:

Protection of the Flag Monument The Protection of the Flag Monument (also known as the "Defense of the Flag Monument") is a historic war memorial located in Academy Park at 715 South Main Street in Athens, Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Designed in the Classical Revival style by ...

in Athens, Pennsylvania; Normandy Farm, George K. Heller School, and

Upper Roxborough Historic District Upper Roxborough Historic District is a national historic district located in Philadelphia and Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It encompasses 108 contributing buildings, 23 contributing sites, and 18 contributing structure ...

in Montgomery County;

Awbury Historic District The Awbury Historic District is a historic area in the Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, East Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It encompasses the former summer homes and farms of the extended Cope family, who moved to ...

and Harris/Laird, Schober & Company Building in Philadelphia; Michael Derstine Farmstead in Bucks County;

John Nicholas and Elizabeth Moyer House The John Nicholas and Elizabeth Moyer House, also known as Richland, is a historic home located in Jefferson Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Built circa 1817, it is a -story, four-over-four stone dwelling. A stone summer kitchen, which w ...

in Berks County;

William Shelly School and Annex The William Shelly School and Annex, also known as the Eberton School, is a historic school building and annex located in West York, York County, Pennsylvania. Built circa 1897, the Shelly Annex was initially designed as a one-room school, but was ...

in York County; and the

Zeta Psi Fraternity House The Zeta Psi Fraternity House at Lafayette College is a historic house located on the campus of Lafayette College in Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. The house was built by the Tau Chapter of the Zeta Psi fraternity between 1909 and 19 ...

in Northampton County.Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District, in
Historical and Museum Commission: National Register Nominations to be Considered by the Historic Preservation Board
" in ''Pennsylvania Bulletin'', Vol. 31, No. 6, February 10, 2001, p. 893. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, retrieved online October 12, 2019. The Chester Heights Camp Meeting Historic District was then officially added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

later in 2001.

Later history

In 2011 and early 2012, the Tabernacle and multiple cottages were burned in two separate arson incidents. In 2016 part of the property was sold to be developed as an apartment complex.

References

External links

Chester Heights Campmeeting Association website
{{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Gothic Revival architecture in Pennsylvania Queen Anne architecture in Pennsylvania Religious buildings and structures completed in 1878 Historic districts in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Camp meeting grounds Methodism in Pennsylvania