St. Paul Camp Ground
National Register Listing
Street Address:
940 St. Paul Rd., Harleyville, SC City Vicinity (Dorchester County)
Alternate Name:
St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Camp Ground
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817718008
Description and Narrative:
(St. Paul A.M.E. Zion Camp Ground) St. Paul Camp Ground is an excellent example of a Methodist camp meeting ground. It contains the buildings common to such properties in South Carolina: a tabernacle, tents, stores, and privies. However, this campground, believed to have been established ca. 1880, was organized by African-Americans belonging to St. Paul A.M.E. Church. The buildings and grounds are used for one week each year (at St. Paul, the week ending the third Sunday in October). The tabernacle is a one-story building clad in rough-sawn weatherboard, with a gable-on-hip roof of V-crimped metal. There are no windows; two entryways, without doors, are evenly spaced at each side. There are 54 tents, two stores, and a storage house on the numbered sites at St. Paul Camp Ground. Twelve sites are vacant. Most of the tents have been rebuilt over time, but retain the style of the earlier structures. The two stores are an integral part of the campground. The one-story frame buildings occupy spots in the circle. The storehouse is a one-story gable roofed building similar to a tent. The privies, in accordance with campground rules, are behind the tents, outside the paved ring road. Privies are ephemeral structures, frequently replaced or moved, but most are small frame structures with a rear-sloping metal shed roof, weatherboard siding, and an entry in the side facing the tents. Listed in the National Register April 30, 1998.
Period of Significance:
1881 – 1947
Level of Significance:
State
Area of Significance:
Religion;Social History;Architecture;Ethnic Heritage: Black
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
April 30 1998
