| Additional Information: | In 1887, land on the western shore of Lake Ripley in the Town of Oakland was purchased, with a donation from John A. Johnson of Madison, by the Willerup Methodist Church of the neighboring Village of Cambridge to serve as a retreat site. It was deeded that year to the Cambridge Norwegian and Danish Camp Meeting Association; however, it was more commonly referred to as the Methodist Society. The Methodist church hosted tent meetings and revivals there for several years. Around the turn of the early twentieth century, a permanent building was constructed on the grounds. Today the building serves as a dining hall. The association was renamed the Lake Ripley Epworth League Institute of Jefferson County in 1915.
During the early twentieth century, several additional buildings were constructed on the grounds. A small cottage was constructed immediately south of the main lodge, followed by a second small cottage, now called Overman Lodge, south of the first. A larger cottage, now called Bailey Cottage, was constructed at the south end of the grounds. Each of these buildings continues to be used for its original purpose to this day. By the 1930s, the camp was renamed the Willerup Park Bible Camp after the founder of the Methodist church in Cambridge, John Willerup. In 1934, the neighboring property of H. & Belle Olson, immediately north of the camp, was purchased by the Methodist Society, including an existing cottage and shed thereon. The cottage continues to be used as such to this day. An octagonal chapel was constructed atop the hillside near the center of the grounds during the early twentieth century. The chapel was recently renamed in the honor of Edith Kenseth. A bunk house, now referred to as the Boy’s Dormitory, was constructed on the west side of the grounds sometime during the early twentieth century. Two additional small, bunkhouses were constructed on the camp’s west property line sometime later. In 1943, the Willerup Bible Camp discontinued its association with the Norwegian-Danish Methodist Conference and has since been operated by a 16-member board of volunteers, eight from Cambridge Methodist Church and eight at-large members, under the name Lake Ripley Institute.
During the mid-twentieth century, two additional buildings were constructed on the south edge of the camp grounds immediately east of the Bailey Cottage: a new dormitory named Epworth Hall in 1969 and a recreation hall. In 1974, volunteers of the Lake Ripley Institute and Willerup Methodist Church constructed a pump house near the center of the camp grounds. New porches, remodeling, and repairs were completed on the Edith Kenseth Chapel, Olsen Cottage, and Bailey Cottage in recent years. The camp continues to serve roughly four hundred people affiliated with various Christian churches, youth groups, and other organizations from the area annually. Today, the 3½-acre grounds with 360 feet of lakeshore also feature a sand beach, swimming platform and rafts, fishing pier, volleyball court, playground equipment, and outdoor picnic areas. |
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| Bibliographic References: | All Eyes on Willerup,” Ripples, Vol. 21, No. 1. Lake Ripley Management District, Spring 2013.
Plat Maps and Atlases. Various years. On file at the Wisconsin Historical Society Area Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in Whitewater, Wisconsin.
Sign posted on Willerup Bible Camp’s Epworth Hall.
Sign posted on Willerup Bible Camp Pump House.
Willerup Bible Camp website. accessed July 10, 2013. |
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