National Register of Historic Places

Balls Creek Campground

Bandy's Crossroads, Catawba County, North Carolina
Listed
April 26, 1990
Type
District
Period
Listed
Ref No.
90000662

About this property

Balls Creek Campground is a historic Methodist camp meeting and national historic district located near Bandy's Crossroads, Catawba County, North Carolina. The district encompasses 310 contributing buildings and 1 contributing site. They include the Arbor (c. 1930), "tents" (individual family dwellings) dating back to the 1850s, a store called "The Shack" (c. 1940), and jail dated to the late-19th / early-20th century. The site was established in 1853 and is an offshoot of Rock Springs Campmeeting in Denver, NC after Lincoln was split into Catawba and Lincoln counties which is believed to be one of the largest religious campgrounds in the southern United States. A camp meeting continues to be held there every August, with "tents" selling for as much as $65,000 each. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. On September 29, 2019, a "suspicious" fire destroyed or damaged 40 of the site's 302 cabins and elicited the response of more than 14 fire departments and over 100 firefighters from Catawba and surrounding counties.

Location

Bandy's Crossroads, Catawba County, North Carolina
35.62995, -81.09730

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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Everything a full report reveals about Balls Creek Campground

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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LiDAR Terrain
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
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Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
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Historical Maps
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Spotlight
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Timeline
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Nearby Historic Sites

Bandy Farms Historic District
Listed
0.3 mi
Powell-Trollinger Lime Kilns
Industrial
2.5 mi
Murray's Mill Historic District
Industrial
3.1 mi
Sherrill, Miles Alexander, House
Industrial
5 mi
Propst, David F., House
Industrial
5.4 mi

Nearby Battles

Action at Beattie's Ford
1781Revolutionary War
5.4 mi
Stoneman's Raid — Catawba Station NC
1865Civil War
6.2 mi
Stoneman's Raid — Newton NC
1865Civil War
7.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Balls Creek Campground listed on the National Register?

Balls Creek Campground was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 26, 1990.

What type of historic resource is Balls Creek Campground?

Balls Creek Campground is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Balls Creek Campground?

The period of significance for Balls Creek Campground is recorded as the listed era.

Can I research the history near Balls Creek Campground?

Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Balls Creek Campground will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.

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