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Epworth Forest Conference Center (North Webster, Kosciusko County, Ind.) records

 Collection
Identifier: NIC-0015-001

Collection Statement

The collection consists of records from: board of directors, board of trustees, constitution and by-laws, dedications, clippings, deeds, correspondence, newsletters and other miscellaneous items. The collection also contains pictures of Epworth Forest and group activities, arranged alphabetically.

Dates

  • 1918 - 1983

Creator

Access Restrictions

Collection is open for research.

Usage Restrictions

Copyright interests for this collection are held by DePauw University.

Historical Sketch

The Epworth League, a Methodist youth society, began its annual summer institutes within the management of the Institute of the Northwest Conference at Battleground, Indiana but felt a need to form an independent Epworth League Institute. They did so at Oakwood Park, Lake Wawasee in 1916. In 1923, "Epworth Forest" in North Webster was purchased. The conference purchased 100 acres along Lake Webster for $25,000. Soon lots were sold, cottages, a hotel, and an auditorium were built, and by 1924, the year of its first institute, it was already a going concern. Over the years it has added Camp Adventure Lodge, Cokesbury Inn, tennis court, ball diamond, amphitheater, auditorium, hospital unit, and sewage disposal plant. It has also conducted among its various camping activities, a choir school, an orchestra, a playhouse, and published its own newspaper. It has evolved into a state-of-the-art facility, but one still might remember the day when room and board at the Epworth Hotel was $3.00 a week, the Richwine Drug Store sold sodas and shakes, and the H and L Garage in North Webster “repaired your tires while you waited”. The Epworth Assembly began in 1935.

Extent

1.425 Cubic Feet (4 document cases, 1 volume)

Language of Materials

English

Status
Completed
Author
Hailee Newton
Date
2/10/2011
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Description is in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Archives of DePauw University and Indiana United Methodism Repository

Contact:
Roy O. West Library
405 S. Indiana St.
Greencastle Indiana 46135 United States