Camp Fellowship was opened on June 17, 1938. The Camp, located on the east bank of the Catawba River just North of the Buffalo Shoals Bridge, was created for the benefit of orphans housed at various orphanages in the area, such as the Junior Order Orphanage of Lexington, Mills Home at Thomasville, the High Point Orphanage, the Alexander Home at Charlotte, the Baptist Orphanage of Thomasville, and the Presbyterian Orphans’ Home at Barium Springs. The Camp Fellowship buildings were constructed by the Presbyterian Orphans’ Home at Barium Springs with funds contributed by the Men’s Fellowship Club of the Second Presbyterian Church of Charlotte and other individual contributors in Statesville and surrounding areas. The land for the Camp was leased to Barium Springs for a 10 year term by the Paola Cotton Mills, the Cannon Company, Statesville Cotton Mills, and Statesville Flour Mill.
For the first three to four years of its operation, Camp Fellowship was used exclusively by local orphanages. Later, as some of the orphanages began to stop using the facility, local churches began to use the Camp. By 1948, the Presbyterians used it for two weeks in the summer, the Methodist churches for four weeks, and the Baptists for one week. The local 4-H clubs also used the Camp intermittently when it was available. After some hiccups and delays, the lease for the Camp fellowship land was renewed in 1948.
By 1951, ownership of the Camp Fellowship land was held by a partnership of Paola Cotton Mills, the Statesville Flour Mills, Mr. J. I. Tomlin, and Cannon Mills of Kannapolis. The Statesville owners (Paola Cotton Mills, Statesville Flour Mills, and J. I. Tomlin) attempted, unsuccessfully, to buy Cannon Mill’s interest in the Camp land and to continue the Camp’s operations and development. After Cannon Mills refused the to sell, the Statesville owners offered to give their ownership share in the camp to the Barium Spring Home for Children, who refused out of concern for the “hazards of ownership.” Ultimately, in February of 1951, Cannon Mills purchased the interest of the Statesville owners, making sole it owner of Camp Fellowship and the associated land, with no intention to continue operating it as a camp for orphanages and churches.
Later that year, on September 17, 1951, Camp Fellowship was re-dedicated to the memory of Billy Neely, a Statesville Boy Scout who died earlier that year in an accident. The Camp was leased by the First Presbyterian Church from its sole owner, Cannon Mills, and was presented to the committee of Scout Troop No. 10, Neely’s troop, for Boy Scout use. Camp Fellowship continued to be used in that capacity until it was closed due to the impending creation of Lake Norman.
Location (approximate): 35.699, -80.991
Sources:
Barrett, Charles M and Harris, Henry M. 1994. The Presbyterian Orphans’ Home at Barium Springs, North Carolina: An Album of Memories. Pages 426-430. H.M. Harris: Raleigh, N.C. Available Online: http://ia701202.us.archive.org/1/items/presbyterianorph00barr/presbyterianorph00barr.pdf
Camp Fellowship. 1948, July 1. “Camp Fellowship.” Statesville Landmark, pages 1, 4.
Cannon Mills now Sole Owner Camp Fellowship. 1951, Feb. 5. “Cannon Mills now Sole Owner Camp Fellowship.” Statesville Landmark, page 1.
Camp Fellowship Dedication Set. 1951, Sept. 14. “Camp Fellowship Dedication Set.” Statesville Daily Record, page 1.
Down in Iredell. 1951, Sept. 15. “Down in Iredell.” Statesville Daily Record, page 1.