Santa Claus Campground (Spencer County, Ind.) records

Santa Claus is the oldest United Methodist campground in the state of Indiana and the first permanent campground ever established for that purpose here. Started in 1851 by John G. Lukemeyer, a minister for the German ME Church, the camp meeting was held annually until 1955, when it was replaced by Ashram, a retreat, which allowed more time for prayer, meditation, and study than was afforded by the camp meeting.

The first camp meetings were held in the open, illuminated by the sun, moon, stars, and brush fires blazing on a raised platform. Tents gave way to cabins over the years, and the summer hotel of 1916 had given way in 1955 to a quadrangle of modern buildings "with facilities equaled in few places in the country." But the tabernacle built in 1884 for $50.00 still stands.

Owners of the campground have included the Santa Claus ME Church, the Santa Claus Campground Association, the Evansville District of the Methodist Church, and the South Indiana Conference of the UM Church. Presently it is owned by the Santa Claus Campground Trust, a private corporation formed in 1989, which operates a full summer schedule of youth camps and a May camp for senior adults.