Camp Ben McCulloch

Camp Ben McCulloch, a 40-acre oak-covered campground on the banks of Onion Creek in northwest Hays County, is nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A at the local level of significance as an important recreational site for thousands of Confederate veterans and their descendants since its establishment in 1903 to the present. It is the only such reunion grounds in continuous operation since its charter in 1896 and the campground is the only one still owned and operated by the original organizing body.Formed strictly as a social organization to maintain friendships and foster good spirits among fellow Confederate veterans, their families and friends, the original membership obtained a perfect place for a summer retreat. The forty acre site was large enough to accommodate numerous families with tents and animals; Onion Creek was an all-weather, spring-fed creek that provided cool water for swimming and drinking; and the many mature oak trees shaded the participants from the hot Texas sun. Shortly after the oak-covered parcel was purchased in 1903, a large open-air tabernacle was built for communal gatherings. Confederate veterans and their families passed the property and the mission to subsequent generations and the reunions have been held every year since the first. In the 1930s, a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project improved the property to include building an Alamo-esque front onto the tabernacle, adding water and pit toilets, grading roads and building trails to the creek. They may have constructed the concrete picnic tables that were apparently commissioned by the descendants of Confederate veterans whose names are inscribed on the table tops. Out onthe main highway two rustic stone pillars typical of WPA era projects mark one of the entrances to the grounds.Separate shelters for Confederate veterans and the wives and widows of veterans were built during the 1930s.They were converted for use as storage and bathrooms in the 1970s. About 1950, a small pole-supported structure was added. Finally, a combination kitchen and open-air dining hall was built in 1989. Today Camp Ben McCulloch's natural landscape appears very much as it did when the Confederate veterans first chose the site as a reunion grounds and the building complex is very reminiscent of 1930s-era campground facility. The new kitchen/dining hall uses natural stone and wood and is compatible in design with the other rustic properties.Most of the properties have been altered to a moderate degree, reflecting their continuous and varied use over a100-year period of time. Despite these modest alterations, the campground and its facilities impart a strong sense of history, both with the rural recreational traditions and Confederate veterans in Hays County and Central Texas. Camp Ben McCulloch is therefore nominated to the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A for associations with the broad trends of history at the local level of significance.