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Kirkland Campground

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1892, William Dandridge Cockrell. VA 601 (south to VA 779), Heathsville vicinity
  • Kirkland Campground (Virginia Division of Historic Resources)
  • (Richard Guy Wilson)
  • (Richard Guy Wilson)
  • (Richard Guy Wilson)
  • (Richard Guy Wilson)
  • (Richard Guy Wilson)
  • (Richard Guy Wilson)
  • (Richard Guy Wilson)
  • (Richard Guy Wilson)

This unusually intact campground was once used by residents of the area who came during the summer to “tent” for a week of revival meetings. It contains three major original buildings, constructed of wood: the great Tabernacle, the Camper's Tent, and the Preacher's Tent. The lumber came from trees on the site. The Tabernacle, which measures 90 feet by 90 feet, reputedly follows dimensions given in the Old Testament. It is an impressive structure with its four-tiered roof and exposed wooden construction. It served as both an open-air house of worship and a dining area. Only one camper's tent survives, a two-story structure to the east, in poor condition. South of the Tabernacle is the Preacher's Tent, two stories with a second-story overhang. Also on the property are two modern concession stands, two large three-story hotels, and a few latter-day “tents” (two-story frame cottages). The complex is still used occasionally.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Richard Guy Wilson et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

Citation

Richard Guy Wilson et al., "Kirkland Campground", [Heathsville, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-01-PE22.

Print Source

Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, Richard Guy Wilson and contributors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 338-339.

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