vicksburg michigan views page 5

A fire destroyed the Adams Park Indian Lake facilities in 1925 and it was put up for sale (see AREA LAKES AND RESORTS above) . The Michigan District Church of the Nazarene was looking for an appropriate location on a lake where they could build a camp for meetings.

Late in 1925, word of the Indian Lake property came to the search committee, who sailed aboard the Lemon Park launch, at a nickel a person, to inspect the site. On August 18, 1926, the committee made an offer on the property which was accepted.

The Church bought 2 of the 4.10 acres on the Point and another 30 acres of open field, marsh and lowland; 3 small cottages and a couple of other buildings, and what was left of the hotel. It also included lake access and an area for both the men's and women's beaches.

In 1927 10 to 12 new cottages were built, and a temporary building for a Tabernacle was brought over on the ice from Lemon Park. The old hotel was made into a dining room.

There was no road to Adams Park or the Campground, and residents and visitors found their back to the lake through farmer's fields. Losing their patience with their make-do road in 1934, some of the Nazarenes went door-to-door taking donations for the installation of a real road. The result was 30th Street, which was soon taken over by Brady Township. The launch service from Lemon Park was soon discontinued.

In 1943, Charles Durward bought Dad Smith's store, and moved it across the street. In 1958 the business was bought by Max and Donna Leppard, who closed it in 1971. That was the conclusion of the commercial aspect of Adam's Park, and although the shoreline is still referred to by that name, it is now entirely a residential area. The Nazarene Campground took over where the Leppard's left off, and in May of 1972, opened a little snack bar.

Through the years the Nazarenes have developed their campground considerably, building a new, modern Tabernacle and many new cabins. Camp meetings are held there for several weeks each summer, drawing hundreds of people, both from Michigan and out of state, to the Lake for revival meetings, programs of sacred music, children's' programs, fishing and fun.

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An undated view of the Brown Cabins at the Nazarene Camp

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Brown Cabins, Nazarene Camp, postmarked 1954

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Nazarene Camp at Indian Lake, 1936

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Nazarene Tabernacle, 1936

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Nazarene Camp at Indian Lake, 1940's

see contemporary pictures of the Nazarene Camp at http://www.ilnc.info/photos.htm

SPIRITUALIST CAMP AT FRASER'S GROVE

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For about 60 years a campground, Fraser's Grove, just south of the Village, was home to meetings of Spiritualists, people who believed they could commune with the dead. Vicksburg was important to Spiritualists all over the north central region. The Vicksburg Historical Society's own Barbara Cousins, as a child, attended meetings with a neighbor who was an active Spiritualist.

The first Spiritualist camp meeting was held in Fraser's Grove in 1884. According to an article, Voices from the Great Beyond: Spiritualism in SW MI , in the Kalamazoo Valley Museum's publication, Museography - Fall 2005 issue (a .pdf file), "Remnants of the community?s connection to the supernatural were still around into the 1940s. At s?nces in pitch-black rooms darkened by quilts hung over the curtains, folks seated in a circle were mesmerized by a medium. Participants went home either satisfied or with the distinct impression that fakery was afoot. But way before that in Vicksburg, and for the best part of four decades, all paths led to ?Fraser?s Grove,? a thick, 27-acre patch of woods near the south end of the village."

"Parts of Fraser?s Grove were platted into housing sites. The lead story in the May 14, 1953, edition of The Vicksburg Commercial was headlined: ?Historic Frazer (sic) Grove Timber to be Lumbered. "

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The photographs from the Depot Museum collections are probably from around 1900

As the Fraser's Grove meetings waned Spiritualist activity moved into Indiana - See the Camp Chesterfield web site.

Also see the Kalamazoo Public Library article about Vicksburg that includes information about the Spiritualist meetings.

The Kalamazoo Public Library has the following photographs from Vicksburg Spiritualist meeting:

1895

http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0916.jpg
http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0915.jpg
http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0914.jpg
http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0913.jpg
http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0912.jpg
http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0911.jpg
http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0910.jpg
http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0909.jpg

1880

http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0227.jpg
http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0226.jpg
http://www.kpl.gov/history/vfile/kvm/03_0225.jpg

Charles E. Dent of Vicksburg MI attended the 1893 the National Delegate Convention of Spiritualists of the United States of America in Chicago - See spirithistory.com for more information about the history of Spiritualism.

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