In the late 1870s, a Methodist camp meeting was established on the east side of Lake Bluff.
“It was hugely important,” said Pam Russell, a board member of the Lake Bluff History Museum. “It brought so many people here and Lake Bluff went from a small farming community to a summer resort.”
The History Museum held a walking tour on July 9 titled Camp Meeting Cottages and Country Houses. Attendees heard about how the camp meeting association came to Lake Bluff, what took place and its impact on the community.
“It was a model for the emerging middle class whereby they could hear about educational, religious and cultural topics,” Russell said. “A couple thousand people could come over the summer.”
Lake Bluff was mostly a summer getaway in the late 1870s, Russell said. The camp meetings exposed people to Lake Bluff and by the early 1900s, many of those homes were converted to year-round residences, she said.
“It was key to mapping out the east of Lake Bluff that is here today.” Russell said.
Another walking tour about early Lake Bluff history, titled Camp Meetings, Chautauquas, Artists and Anarchists, is scheduled for Oct. 1. More information may be found online at www.lakebluffhistory.org.