National Register of Historic Places

New Haven District Campground

Plainville, Hartford County, Connecticut
Listed
May 18, 1980
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
80004065

About this property

The New Haven District Campground, also known as the Plainville Campground, is a historic Methodist camp meeting site on Gladding Avenue in Plainville, Connecticut. Opened in 1865, the campground was used by Connecticut Methodists to partake in the 19th-century trend of religious and recreational camp meetings, and is now a secular community of summer homes. The campground was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 19, 1980. The New Haven District Campground is located on northwestern Plainville, on about 17 acres (6.9 ha) of land northeast of the junction of Camp Street and Northwest Drive. It consists of a network of roads, entered via Gladding Avenue, that radiate to the north from Circle Avenue, at whose center is the main pavilion. The roads are otherwise densely built with small wood-frame cottages. All are one to two stories in height, and many feature gingerbread decoration typical of other camp meeting architecture. Despite their original purpose as revivalist gatherings, camp meetings became a popular leisure destination for the middle class in the 19th century due to their moral nature and affordability. The campground consists of 89 cottages, built as permanent replacements for the site's original tents, which surround a central preaching area in the camp meeting's traditional circular pattern. At the height of its popularity, the campsite had its own railroad station and spurred the local economy in what was at the time a rural area. The campground lost its religious affiliation in 1957, though the cottages are still used as summer homes. National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford County, Connecticut

Location

Plainville, Hartford County, Connecticut
41.68644, -72.89001

Categories

ARCHITECTURERELIGIONSOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Forestville Passenger Station
Industrial
1 mi
Congregational Church of Plainville
Industrial
1.3 mi
Norton, Charles H., House
Industrial
1.8 mi
Shade Swamp Shelter
Industrial
2 mi
Terry-Hayden House
Industrial
2.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was New Haven District Campground listed on the National Register?

New Haven District Campground was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 18, 1980.

What type of historic resource is New Haven District Campground?

New Haven District Campground is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for New Haven District Campground?

The period of significance for New Haven District Campground is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near New Haven District Campground?

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