Harrell Campground
Kingston, Hunt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One of first religious sites in Hunt County. Influential for 50 years. Cabins and brush arbor built in 1850s by early settler Richard Harrell (1813-1895). Methodist gospel services drew people here from many counties, in summers while crops grew and work was slack. With milch cows, cook stoves, bedding, wash tubs, water barrels, families forded Sabine River to camp for weeks. Children and adults sang hymns, studied scriptures, listened to sermons-- diversions in hard and lonely lives. In months between camp meetings, passing travelers often were sheltered in camp.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the 1850s the early settler Richard Harrell built cabins and a brush arbor here, creating one of Hunt County's first religious sites. Each summer, when crops were laid by and work was slack, Methodist families forded the Sabine River with milk cows, cook stoves, and wash tubs to camp for weeks of preaching, hymns, and scripture — a rare gathering in hard, lonely lives. Between meetings the camp often sheltered passing travelers, and its influence lasted half a century.
Why it matters
Camp meetings like Harrell Campground were the social and spiritual lifeline of the rural frontier, drawing scattered settlers together in an era with few churches and fewer diversions.
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Related people
- · Richard Harrell
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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