When the Dimock Camp Meeting was chartered, there were 54 congregations in the Wyalusing District. It is from their membership and pulpits that 11 persons were called forward to bring the camp meeting grounds at Dimock into being. The circuits or stations (in bold) with the congregations (in italics) were Tunkhannock; Wyalusing (including Spring Hill); Herrick (including Standing Stone); Rome (including Myersburg and Towner Hill); Orwell; LeRaysville (including Prattville and South Warren); Montrose; Brooklyn (including Hop Bottom); Springville (including Lymanville); Nicholson and South Gibson (including Glenwood); Factoryville (including East Lemon and West Abington); Meshoppen (including Keiserville and Russell Hill); Skinners Eddy (including South Auburn and West Auburn); Mehoopany (including Forkston); Auburn (including Jersey Hill and East Rush); Fairdale (including Forest Lake and Fair Hill); Gibson and Harford; Newton (including Milwaukee, Falls, Mill City and Crooked Lake); Northmoreland (including Dymond Hollow, Vernon and Beaumont); Rush (including Beaver Meadows); West Nicholson (including Stark and Lakeside); Jenningsville; and Hornbrook (including Ghent).

Incidentally, the minister who served a circuit was called (unofficially) a circuit rider or a saddlebag preacher as he moved between the congregations in his circuit on horseback, carrying his possessions in his saddlebags. He would preach any day and any where - indoor or outdoor. It might take him more than a month to traverse his circuit!

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In April 1875, the Rev. Ira Taylor Walker, then pastor of the Adams Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in Scranton, was chosen as the Wyalusing District's Presiding Elder of the church's Wyoming Conference. He immediately went about putting into place all of the things that would permanently relocate the Wyalusing District's camp meeting site to Dimock, a site his predecessor, the Rev. Luther peck, apparently had a hand in selecting. As Presiding Elder, Walker oversaw the first three camp meetings at Dimock in 1875, 1876 and 1877.
He wrote: "Only a few weeks ago I entered the Dimmick [sic] Grove where a Camp meeting will soon be held. How forcibly I was impressed with the appropriateness of the place for the beginnings of a Christian life. There, the beautiful shade and the streaming sun-rays which upturned the graceful leaves and danced forth to play with the shrubbery and grasses. There, under those grand old trees, can there be found a better altar?" (Aug. 11, 1875)

This copy of a stock certificate belonged to Wilbur Lyman, who was a brother-in-law of Rev. Luther Peck, the Wyalusing District presiding elder who headed up the committee looking for a permanent campground site from September 1873 to April 1875. The president then was the Rev. Joshua S. Lewis, for whom the Lewis Lodge on these grounds is named.

Incidentally, the name Wyalusing District Campmeeting Association was chosen because it had been set up initially to serve folks from parts of Bradford, Luzerne, Sullivan, Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties which comprised the Wyalusing District in the larger Methodist Episcopal Church's Wyoming Conference. However, in the year after the charter went into force the church decided to dissolve the geographical entity known as the Wyalusing District.

William Taylor

While most camp meetings showcased the best preaching from the Conference, occasionally a renowned figure would be invited to heighten public interest. One such figure was William Taylor. Converted at a camp meeting in 1841, Taylor became perhaps the Methodist Episcopal Church's most celebrated evangelist during the 1800s. He proclaimed a "mission field" that spanned six continents. Before his international endeavors, he was a street preacher in San Francisco's bowery. In 1875, he preached on four separate occasions at the Dimock Camp Meeting and returned in 1876. He later became a Bishop, and Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, is named in his honor.

Daniel Brink Towner

According to a newspaper account, Prof. Daniel Brink Towner led the music at the 1876 Dimock camp meeting. His leadership "attracted a large audience and was one of the meeting's most captivating features. Every morning and evening, the voices of a large chorus could be heard singing beautiful songs of Zion, such as Hold the Fort, We're going Home Tomorrow, What Will the Harvest Be?, and He Leadeth Me."

At the time, Towner was only 26, but his musical talent was so profound that he became the musical director of Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church in Binghamton at age 20. Throughout his life, he composed over 2,000 songs. In the 1880s, he began traveling with the renowned evangelist Dwight Moody. A native of Rome, Pennsylvania, in Bradford County, his hymn Trust and Obey remains a cherished piece in the United Methodist Hymnal.

Cornelia Bryce Pinchot

The 1931 Dimock camp meeting featured Cornelia Pinchot, the First Lady of Pennsylvania. She shared her observations from a trip to the South Seas, where she witnessed the work of missionaries. It's likely she also discussed women's suffrage, birth control, educational reform, and the exploitation of child labor in sweatshops—all causes she passionately championed throughout her life. Pinchot encouraged women to engage actively in politics and careers, served on the local school board, supported prohibition, and was one of the first prominent women to fly in an airplane.

Notably, although the Methodist Church only began allowing local ordination of women in 1924 and granted full clergy rights in 1956, women have been addressing the Dimock gatherings since the earliest camp meetings. For instance, during the inaugural 1875 meeting, Sister Sharpe spoke about her work with the orphaned children of former slaves in Charleston, South Carolina.

1872

On July 10th, the first spike was laid for a narrow-gauge railroad to transport passengers and freight between Tunkhannock and Montrose. This train would eventually transport camp-meeting attendees to Dimock. During the first camp meeting season, trains did not operate on Sundays to respect the Sabbath.

1873

Around the time of the September camp meeting near Meshoppen, a decision was made to find a "permanent" site for the Wyalusing District's annual gathering. On October 22nd, a committee consisting of Luther Peck, J.B. Sumner, J.H. Weston, J.L. Race, P.R. Tower, and J.R. Palen took a ride on the newly completed railway from Tunkhannock, which extended to a point about two miles north of Dimock. They examined sites including Lake Carey and another just west of Springville on James Blakelee's property. Unable to finalize a decision by the summer of 1874, that year's District camp meeting was once again held near Meshoppen.

1875

The Rev. Ira T. Walker, who became the presiding elder of the Wyalusing District on April 14th, convened a meeting of the Wyalusing District Ministerial Association in Camptown on June 15th. This association consisted of ministers serving the 23 circuits and stations in the District. A committee of six pastors and five laymen was formed to oversee the establishment of a "permanent" camp meeting ground. Most of them met at Dimock on June 21st. On June 27th, The New York Times listed the Dimock grounds among numerous camp meetings occurring nationwide that summer. A workbee on July 9th cleared the grounds and began construction of necessary structures and benches. On August 25th, Rev. Walker delivered the opening sermon.

1877

On August 15th, the charter of the Wyalusing District Camp Meeting Association was registered in the Susquehanna County Court of Common Pleas. Following the charter's approval, residents from Nicholson constructed the first substantial cottage on the grounds.

1878

Administrative changes in the Wyoming Conference led to the dissolution of the old Wyalusing District. Its former preaching locations were reassigned among three of the Conference's new six districts. Dimock was placed in the Binghamton District, which already had its own camp meeting ground at Carmel Grove. A tornado destroyed the Carmel Grove auditorium one month before the summer 1914 program, ending its use as a camp meeting ground. In 1910, another realignment in the Wyoming Conference reduced the number of districts to four, placing Dimock in the Wilkes Barre District, which had a camp meeting ground at Wyoming until 1908. Dimock persisted.

1882

The first By-laws of the Wyalusing District Camp Meeting Association were adopted, mandating, among other things, that all association directors be members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

1885

A new boarding hall (the current Dining Hall) was prepared for the August camp meeting season. A news item from the Montrose paper highlighted that "Vegetables, meat, milk, bread, and other essentials could be procured at the Hall by those staying on the grounds. A convenient lunch stand was also available." In 1899, piping was installed to supply water from the spring to the hall.

1896

The Montrose newspaper reported that new essential buildings had been constructed at Dimock. To offset the costs, the Association erected a wire fence around the grounds and introduced an admission fee of 10 cents for the season. The Tunkhannock newspaper mentioned that such a practice had been in place at the Wyoming camp meeting ground for years and effectively deterred many "undesirable characters." At Dimock, 4,500 tickets were sold in 1899.

1901

The first camp meeting season of the new century sparked a glowing assessment of the events at Dimock in the Montrose newspaper of September 6th: "One of the secrets of success here is the singular religious aim of the meeting which proves that the plain gospel has not lost its power over the multitudes." However, on the same day, U.S. President William McKinley was shot in Buffalo, N.Y., and died on September 14th.

1917

On April 2nd, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germany, and it concurred. It was hoped to be a war that would end all wars. An armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. At the 1917 camp meeting at Dimock, Rev. Richard H. Gilbert of Berwick spoke on "Germany and the Germans and Why We Must Fight."

1918

Perhaps because the Great War had left Americans with a new sense of their own mortality, some 10,000 persons attended this year's Dimock camp meeting. It likely resulted in Dimock's worst-ever traffic jam as local newspapers cited the same official report of 1,455 cars, 588 horses, and three motorcycles on the grounds.

1925

The 50th anniversary of the first camp meeting held on these Dimock grounds was celebrated with a camp meeting week from July 30th through August 9th. The Rev. George O. Beers conducted the week's first service.

1940

Dimock's present chapel, where Sunday evening services are held, was built almost entirely by Wilkes Barre District pastors of the Wyoming Conference with assistance from a few laypersons who generously donated their labor. The chapel was dedicated on July 14th by Rev. George M. Bell, Wilkes Barre District Superintendent.

1941-1945

America was involved in World War II. Methodist Rural Life Institutes and youth camps became a fixture on the Dimock grounds. However, with the addition of Sky Lake by the Wyoming Conference, youth camps eventually ceased at Dimock. Additionally, following the war, the larger Methodist Church played an important role in establishing a World and National Council of Churches, and the ecumenical spirit was reflected on the grounds here in subsequent programming that welcomed persons of varying faith backgrounds.

1950

The 75th anniversary of the first camp meeting held on these Dimock grounds was celebrated with a series of Sunday meetings. July 16th was a particularly big day with the Rev. Robert Morris of Chicago, who had visited previously in the 1930s, preaching with some of that "old-time fervor" at 11am, 2:30pm, and 8pm.

1954

On October 15th, Hurricane Hazel swept through the area of the Dimock grounds, leading to the eventual demolition of one cottage.

1969

On July 20th, the U.S. achieved the milestone of putting the first man on the moon - Neil Armstrong. On that same day, during the third Sunday evening service of the season, Dimock also tried something different with its programming. Roman Catholic Father Frank Campbell, who taught at the Pope Pius Seminary in Dalton, delivered the message.

1977

The 100th anniversary of Dimock's original charter was celebrated with both Sunday evening services throughout the summer and a weeklong centennial camp meeting that featured Methodist Bishop James Ault on August 14th.

2002

The 125th anniversary of Dimock's original charter was celebrated with services on nine consecutive Sunday evenings. On July 14th, a Founders Day program paid tribute to the Rev. Paul Hulslander, and a few cottages were open to the public. That evening, hymnwriter P.P Bliss was commemorated by the Rev. Thomas Jacobs, a pastor from State College, along with the All for ONE gospel quartet and a parade of banners from supporting churches.