View All Items

Title: 1957 Church of God Tabernacle.
Abstract/Description: 1957 Photograph of the Wimauma Church of God Tabernacle. Wimauma was the site of annual COG Camp Meeting that attracted 1000s of visitors from Florida and the SE part of the US. (From an article written by Charles Nelson (Historian for HCC Ruskin History Project and the Ruskin Library and published in the Osprey Observer, June 7, 2019) The Church of God was founded in Tennessee in 1886 and is the oldest Pentecostal Church in America. The annual camp meeting is a cherished tradition of the...
Show more1957 Photograph of the Wimauma Church of God Tabernacle. Wimauma was the site of annual COG Camp Meeting that attracted 1000s of visitors from Florida and the SE part of the US. (From an article written by Charles Nelson (Historian for HCC Ruskin History Project and the Ruskin Library and published in the Osprey Observer, June 7, 2019) The Church of God was founded in Tennessee in 1886 and is the oldest Pentecostal Church in America. The annual camp meeting is a cherished tradition of the Church and is still widely held. Florida’s Wimauma Camp Meeting is the oldest and largest Church of God camp meeting site in the United States still in operation. Pentecostals had been holding camp meetings at Pleasant Grove, near Durant, for many years before the turn of the 20th century. Most major denominations sponsored at least one camp there a year and rather than continuing to share, the Durant Church sought a new exclusive location. In 1913, land along Tiger Lake (now Lake Wimauma) was selected as the permanent camp and purchased by the Church of God at Durant. The scenic beauty of Lake Wimauma had a lot to do with building the camp in Wimauma. The first Wimauma Camp Meeting was held in 1914 and housed in an open-air barn. Campers slept in tents on the ground. A larger Tabernacle replaced the original structure in 1924. Separate male and female dormitories, an expanded tent ground, a cafeteria and, later, small cottages were built to house a growing number of camp goers. As crowds expanded, a third Tabernacle was built: an open-air structure that seated 3,700 worshipers. It was later expanded to seat over 5,000. The open-air construction served late arriving worshippers who could bring their own chairs or sit out on the campgrounds to listen to the five daily services. A fourth, fully enclosed and air-conditioned structure was built in 1985, which continues to serve the annual camp meeting and houses today’s Wimauma Convention Center.
Show less
Identifier: HCC0101WIM013
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: Aerial View of US 301 at Wimauma Road 1959.
Abstract/Description: Aerial view of US 301 near Wimauma Road...note lack of development in area. To the left would be where Sun City Center would eventually be. 1959
Identifier: HCC0101WIM007
Format: Image (JPEG)

Title: Baptism at Lake Wimauma.
Abstract/Description: Ruskin Baptist Church members being baptized at Lake Wimauma
Identifier: HCC0101WIM003
Format: Image (JPEG)