In the late 1950s, the Legacy Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church answered a call to create a camp for the greater Nashville area. Working with local landowners and making small purchases, over 500 acres came together to make Cedar Crest a camp and retreat center in 1959. Our roots in camping are in rustic small group camping; our first summer camp experiences were done in covered wagons. These important roots still drive our mission to create intentional experiences done in “family groups.” 

 

In the early 1970s, two lodges- Cecil Lodge and Nickell Lodge- were created to give four season retreat opportunities for Middle Tennessee communities. The late 1970s saw the creation of “Birdland” and “Treeland,” two cabin communities in the main camp area of Cedar Crest, as summer camp moved away from covered wagons.  These cabins were rustic, wood frame cabins and became the base of the summer camp experience well into the early 2000s.

 

In 2014, Cedar Crest officially transitioned from the rustic cabins, using its lodges as the home base of summer camp operations. In 2015, Cedar Crest became an accredited camp by the American Camp Association, one of only a few overnight camps in Middle Tennessee to hold that distinction. In 2016, a new cabin building, Songbird, was constructed to accommodate the growth of summer campership. In addition, a high ropes course and an outpost camp were created. In 2018, an additional cabin building, Owl, was built to further accommodate summer camp growth. These cabins are a testament to the leadership of Bishop Bill McAlilly, Legacy Tennessee Conference Connectional Ministries, and the Legacy Tennessee Conference Committee on Finance and Audit who secured funding to allow the growth of Cedar Crest. During this time, Eagle’s Nest- a former rustic cabin- was remodeled to become a sabbath cabin for those in ministry; it was renamed Hinton Eagle’s Nest in honor of Rev. Dickie and Thelma Hinton, longtime leaders of camping ministry in the Tennessee Conference. In 2019, Cedar Crest launched an Environmental Education program to offer learners in the Mid South hands-on education that can supplement their classroom experience.

 

Recent additions such as the camp garden, the perimeter trail, and outdoor classrooms for Environmental Education situate Cedar Crest to continue its growth and importance in the 2020s.