Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1881-08-24
A Half Day at Camp Meeting on
Sabbath, August q. 1881.


d Gray Haired .uan Sa,d Concerning
TIE Singing Preaching in Square
No. 2-1xe Crowd- Raiiroad Facil-
lilies.
Both state and church may give fame to
an individual or 10 . name. The state gave
fame to Washington, Lincoln and Grant,
the church gave fame to Luther, Calvin and
Wesley, and now, in this day and genera
tions the Methodist Church has given nne
to the name Of
NEwroS HAMnrox.
Throughout the length and breadth of
AethOdism the name of Newton Hamilton
is known as enc of the great religious sum.
msr resorts of Methodist people. The
name is derived from . town of about four
hundred inhabitants, On the slope of the
west bank of the Junista river about sixty
five miles from its confluence with the Sls-
quehanna. The inhabitants have lost trace of
the early days of the place. and it was from
]. A. Ross, who was born near Thompson
town, this county, that We learned much of
the early history Of Newton Hamilton, Mr..
Ross lived in the place before he had At.
tanned his majority, and built the large stons
house opposite the Miller Hotel In 1893. At
that time be was working on the canal at 4
dollar day, under Governor Ritner's ad-
ministration. The stones for his house were
. As r..
rows on Hat, and unloaded on the river
bank, and at night, after he had finished his
days work on the canal, he hauled stones
up from the river 10 the house. The place
used TO be called Haroiltonvile, and long
ego, in 1853, it was q trading post under the
name of Muhienberg. The Hsmiltons came
| in there, bought the land-and some OF
them are there yet-and changed the name
twice, rs above indicated. The theology of
the town is Methodist and Presbyterian.
As TO which Of the two churches Newton
Hamilton, the perscl asterExhon the town
has last been named, belonged is not known,
or was not told Us. When We stepped out
of the cars at the place. last Sabbath morn
ing about 10 O'Clock, the first words that
We heard above the general hum OF con-
vcrsation of fourteen hundred people was the
voice Of W. D. Cramer, saying, Z" Please
move along brisklyi there are several other
trains waiting TO unload" And that is the
way Mary people came to
CAMP MEETING
Ten thousand people were there last Sab
bath. Five thousand came in the cars, two
thousand were there in tents, and three
thousand came there in vehicles and on foot.
There were about forty preachers compre-
heLde6 within that multitude. n the peo-
pie had been divided up into religious con-
erega,ions it would have given each preach
er lock of about two hundred and fifty OF
q Congregation. II such an assembly had
been suggested for Sabbath day, seventy
five years ago, the fathers would have mar
veled over the suggestion; but as gunpow-
der came al0ng and revOfntioniEed the
methods of warfare, and placed everybody
on a level in battle, for everybody that can
point a gun can shoot and kill, SO railroad
came along ard revolutioDized the methods
of travel, and placed everybody on level
as to their ability to ridei everybody that
can get on car can ride. In the days OF
the fathers only such as had horses and car
riages could ride to ''mee:ing" on Sabbath
day. Open air meetings, meetings under the
trees, camp meetings, have an est,ier his.
tory than Newton Hamilton, unless the Ham
iltons go back to Adam to start their an
cestry. Camp meetings, perhaps, too, &c
that far back, and when the testimony Of
the meetings OF the past are all in and
summed up he will be bold man that vii
say that the greatest number Of good peo'
pie have worshipped in houses. A duck
NAV be raised on hin, but once it finds it'
: way TO water il will go to the water Otter
D if it is not restrained; so with men, yo'
NAV raise them in houses, and in church
: buildings in cities, bit once they find th'
way to the woods they will 60 there ofteI
, unless restrained hence the excursions t.
the country Under the maine Of plcnios. Gel
ebrations and camp meetings; il is the nat
4 ural love of outdoor life House-life is &C
J. ouired, under the necessity Of climate in
;. 1uence, or other influences. When Nine
o web was built, twenty years after the confu
e sion OF tongues at Babel. . grand tempt
), six hundred and sixty feet high was put u
Q in the city. and the image of Baai in gol'
e forty feet high was placed in the temple
e But that does not prove that people shoui
- worship in houses; if it proves anythin
r it proves that the first people that worship
4 ped in grand houses were idolaters. AshuI
a the grandson of n oah, built Nineveh on
,. grand scale. Its walls we're hundred fee
= high, and il was a walk or ride of hun
$ dred miles around the place. But wher
z was the crowd worshipping that had joul
W neted away from the tower and city
o Babelf In groves, under the trees, in cam
= meetings. Where did Abraham, who cam
d more than ore hundred years after IL
e building of Nineveh with its grand tempt
e worship From Abraham to David, a pt
g riod of Thousand wears, where did th
r. people of God worship' The grande'
l temples of antiquity were places for lido
v aters to worship Christianity came alon
.r in Its plainest gsrb and destroyed the gran
m Pagan temples, wherever it could reac
Is them, with all theft rich paintings and mas
ia nificrpt staiuary, and for years the gosp
was largely preached in the open air-iI
deed till art and Catholicism joined hanf
D. and tegan cathedral and church buildin
oi In the light of the history of the past it
N best not to be too hard on camp meetings
The CAMP AT NEWTON HANtLroS
). Is in the midst of a square woods Of thir'
N acres. The direction is almost due We
a from the railroad, between which and Il
to woods is a small clearing. From the raj
A. s;,,rsav sro rowa of man