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Cattle Creek Campground, South Carolina
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| | Our grandtwins Marley and Heeley this week are out at the Cattle Creek Camp Grounds. Clifton's family owns one of the many camp tents out there. I am sure that you have attended one of the few remaining Church Camp Grounds which were very popular in the South beginning over a hundred and fifty years ago.
There is a family story which has been passed down to Mazie over the years. The Johnsons were very found of attending the many Church Camp sites around what we now call the Mid-lands and Coastal areas of the Palmetto State. There are still two that |
I know of near Branchville. One is the Cattle Creek Camp which is between Branchville and Bowman. I heard on the news this month that there is one which blacks have been attending for over a century elsewhere in South Carolina.
It is my understanding that the settlement which
| Denmark residents call the Country Club which is located on the South Edisto River near the old Binnickers Bridge (now known as the Judge Ness Bridge) began as a Methodist Church Camp Ground. Then it gradually lost its appeal to the Methodist folks as a place for weeks long religious retreats and it evolved into a place of escape during Bamberg County's very hot summer months for residents in Denmark before the advent of modern air-conditioning.
It has been told to Mazie over the years that both her Grandfather Lawrence Semme Johnson and his brother Johnny | |
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Johnson greatly enjoyed these Church Camp Meetings and were known to travel most anywhere in the state for such gatherings. I am sure that they would take their families to the ones nearby, but would travel in their buggies or wagons alone to the far reaches of South Carolina.
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it further is told that Grandpa Semme was the brother who attended the most of these old-time religion meetings over a greater number of years. Mazie's Grandpa Johnson was also the Johnson brother who passed on his love of the outdoors to his greater family. Not only his sons,
but those of Johnny's depended on learning the great Southern sports of hunting and fishing and exploring the wonderful Southland's outdoor wonders.
Carlisle, Nook, Bud, and other Johnson boys would frequently visit with their Uncle Semme to join in with the many hunts and fishing
trips on the South Edisto, because their father Johnny was the more studious of the two -- he loved his reading and the more indoor activities of a scholar.
The fishing stories of Odell and Mary which have been told in the Johnson Family Newsletter are evidence of the love of
the outdoors which was passed down to the family from Grandpa Semme.
And to some degree, Marley and Heeley are now enjoying the pleasures of the old-time religion at the old camp grounds which their greatgreatgranddaddy Semme experienced for so many years over a hundred years
ago at Cattle Creek Camp Grounds.
These tents still have dirt floors where fresh hay straw is spread for the week or so each year. They are two-story structures which resemble small barns for animals on Southern farms more than they look like a typical tent. I suppose those
first camp grounds over a hundred years ago started out with a form of a canvas tent, but I am not sure of that being the reason for the still used name of tent for the structure.
Marley and Heeley also inherited their love of the camp ground week at Cattle Creek from their
Ott family. Their father Clifton always sets up the facilities at the Ott Tent the weekend prior to the meeting by taking the refridgerator, and bedding, and other items out there.
The Cattle Creek Camp Grounds has begun in recent years to use electricity and indoor plumbing
which was not available in the good old days, but down at Indian Fields Camp Ground nearby, they still forbid electricity and indoor plumbing.
The brothers Semme and Johnny Johnson didn't have a choice during their times of enjoying the spiritualy gatherings at the old Church
Camp grounds.
The hot days were spent, as they still are, by sitting on the front of the first floor which is called the tent porch. Since the tents a arranged in a complete circle which inclose a large tabernacle in the center. It was a time to fellowship and visit with neighbors
and with those who had moved away from the area, but who would always be sure to return home on that special week each year.
The call to worship each evening was made by the sounding of an instrument called a horn. It still is used at Cattle Creek and Indian Fields, and probably
most continuing Church Camp Grounds in this part of the Old South. It is a very long horn similar to those which we saw in our old geography books of shepherds in the Swiss Alps. They are the appropriate musical instruments to call God's herd into a place of shelter to feast upon
His Holy Word.
By Marley & Heeley's granddaddy --
Eddie Hightower of Branchville,SC Says Eddie Hightower
Cattle Creek Campground is not far at all from Bowman, and Colleton State Park is worth stopping at. High temperatures at Cattle Creek Campground during the warm
months are in the 90's, and during the night it cools down to the 60's. For the duration of the winter highs are in the 50's, and winter nights come with lows in the 30's to Cattle Creek Campground. Don't leave Cattle Creek Campground without dropping by Santee State Park. Cattle
Creek Campground sees pretty high levels of precipitation; July is the wettest month with most rain; the driest month of the year is November.
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LOCATION AND CONTACT INFO:
Coordinates:
Latitude: 33.32194
Longitude: -80.75111
Orangeburg - Days Inn South, Orangeburg
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8 miles away
Days Inn Conveniently Located Off I-26 Close between Columbia, SC and Charleston, SC. Easy access I-26 Exit 154B(US 301) Quiet and Relaxing, Restaurant on Property. Just the right place to stay after ...
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Jameson Inn Orangeburg, Orangeburg
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12 miles away
Featuring true Southern Hospitality, Legendary Service, white colonial design, Deluxe Breakfast, clean comfortable rooms, fitness center & sparkling pool. Close to area attractions, you will enjoy the...
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Outdoors Recreation Near Orangeburg, South Carolina
Very comprehensive list of a variety of outdoors recreation in the vicinity of Orangeburg, South Carolina, the metro area neareast to Cattle Creek Campground. Find info on campgrounds, hiking trails, ski resorts, lakes, beaches, parks, whitewater and more.
More Hotels and Campgrounds Near Cattle Creek Campground, South Carolina
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| These outdoors activities are available near Cattle Creek Campground. |
| | Camp Grounds Near Cattle Creek Campground:
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Mountaineer Motel, Cameron
, 10 miles away |
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Shady Grove Campground, Dorchester County
, 11 miles away |
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Indian Field Campground, Dorchester County
, 15 miles away |
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Stumphole Landing, Elloree
, 17 miles away |
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Colleton State Park, Canadys
, 18 miles away |
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Santee State Park, Santee
, 18 miles away |
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Jolly Acres Camp and Storage, Saint George
, 18 miles away |
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| | Hotels Near Cattle Creek Campground:
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Orangeburg - Days Inn South, Orangeburg
, 8 miles away |
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Jameson Inn Orangeburg, Orangeburg
, 12 miles away |
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SUPER 8 MOTEL - ORANGEBURG, Orangeburg
, 12 miles away |
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Country Hearth Inn St George, Saint George
, 12 miles away |
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St. George Days Inn, Saint George
, 12 miles away |
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SUPER 8 MOTEL - ST. GEORGE, Saint George
, 12 miles away |
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Quality Inn & Suites, Orangeburg
, 12 miles away |
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12 miles away
