On July 31, 1869, twenty-two members of the holiness movement of
the Methodist church gathered to pray on a beach on the New Jersey
shore. Before long, Ocean Grove was established as "God's Square
Mile, " the first permanent camp meeting dedicated to the pursuit
of both holiness and recreational activities. In this richly
illustrated account, Troy Messenger looks at the numerous informal
amusements of summer life at Ocean Grove and provides a glimpse
into a fascinating moment in the development of both
nineteenth-century religion and an American leisure culture.
Like other seaside resorts of the time such as Atlantic City and
Coney Island, Ocean Grove boasted a festival atmosphere and offered
such diversions as baby parades, oriental bazaars, pageants, beach
games, ushers' marches, and drills by the Young Rough Riders. While
guests were forbidden to drink, smoke, play cards, or drive their
cars on Sunday, they were encouraged to enjoy other pursuits that
would have scandalized pious Methodists of an earlier era, such as
relaxing on the beach, taking the summer off, attending popular
amusements, and staging comic gender satire with cross-dressed men.
At Ocean Grove, however, even seemingly frivolous activities had a
higher purpose: every aspect of daily life was focused on the
attainment of perfection and all were performances of "holy
leisure."
The genius of Ocean Grove, Messenger argues, was in extending
holiness from the parlor meeting to the beach. Here, conservative
evangelicals discovered a moral imperative to enjoy rest and
recreation. By praying and playing together, the people of Ocean
Grove acquired a unique understanding of self and community, one
that illuminates theliberal social-reform movements of the
nineteenth-century religious middle class and the early leisure
industry.
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