Tucked into the small town of Ashburn, the Wesleyan-Methodist Campground and Tabernacle is a rare example of an urban camp-meeting site. Most Methodist campgrounds were located in rural, isolated areas, but this one was built in 1901 on Madison Avenue, right in the county seat of Turner County. It remains active today, with summer meetings of prayer, preaching, and singing that recall its early days.

Ashburn itself was a thriving timber, sawmill, and railroad town in the late 1800s, earning the nickname “the Holy City” for its strong emphasis on religious life. Businesses often opened with prayer and closed for special services, reflecting the values of the community in which the tabernacle was born.

The tabernacle was designed to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of visiting worshippers. Its post-and-beam construction and hipped metal roof shelter a space for about 400 people. Open on three sides with a pulpit platform at the closed end, it is flanked by a kitchen for meals and sleeping quarters with eight simple rooms for overnight guests. Attendees sat on wooden benches and sang from shape-note hymnals, filling the open-air structure with sound.

The Wesleyan-Methodist denomination itself has unique roots. Emerging in 1843 as an offshoot of Methodism during the revival fervor of the Second Great Awakening, it never reached the numbers of mainstream Methodism but retained a strong presence in small communities like Ashburn. The local congregation brought their faith to life here at the turn of the twentieth century.

Today, the property is owned by the City of Ashburn and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1998. Thanks to the stewardship of the town and its citizens, this historic treasure continues to stand as a reminder of Georgia’s camp-meeting tradition—one of the few urban examples in the nation.