Camp History
More than a century of summer life on the Chain O' Lakes.
Camp Cleghorn is one of the oldest associations on the Waupaca Chain O' Lakes. What follows is the story of how a temperance assembly became a family community — and why that heritage still shapes life at the camp today.
1890s
Captain Cleghorn searches for a home
Captain John F. Cleghorn was looking for a new location for Good Templars assemblies, having outgrown their previous site at Phantom Lake. He chose Columbia Lake on the Waupaca Chain O' Lakes — known then as the "Killarneys of America."
1897
Camp Cleghorn is founded
The Wisconsin Good Templars established Camp Cleghorn as a nonprofit institution. Families would stay and enjoy recreation on the Chain O' Lakes while attending religious and educational meetings about the virtues of temperance.
1910s–1920s
The Chautauqua years
Camp Cleghorn joined the national Chautauqua circuit, bringing speakers on science, politics, and religion to the lake. The camp was part of a broad American movement that linked summer life with civic and spiritual education.
1920s–30s
Radio, cars, and a changing America
As radio and automobiles became mainstream, interest in Chautauqua-style assemblies declined across the country. The camp continued, but the nature of summer life at the lake began to shift.
1960s
The assembly era ends
The commissary and dining hall became unsafe and were torn down. The camp store closed as residents had easy access to larger stores. What remained was the community itself — the cottages, the chapel, and the families who kept returning.
Today
Heritage, not profit
Cottage owners jointly hold the camp as a nonprofit. Members pay dues for shared costs — property taxes, road maintenance, security. The focus remains unchanged: not on making money, but on leaving a heritage for the future.
What has stayed the same
The principles that founded the camp still shape it today.
- — Family Christian living and summer worship as a community anchor
- — Temperance in avoiding drug and alcohol abuse; alcohol is restricted to cottage premises
- — Stewardship of the natural resources entrusted to the camp, including the Lost Lake preserve
- — Organized as a nonprofit — not for profit, but for heritage