History
In the 1970s, a group of people from several congregations of the churches of Christ in northwest Tennessee decided to establish a summer youth camp in their area. They formed an independent non-profit organization called Reelfoot Youth Camp, with a self-perpetuating board of directors made up of members of several churches of Christ in the area. Property was leased (and later purchased) from the parents of one of those people. The Bruce Activity Building was constructed in 1979. Two groups of four wooden cabins and a cement-block bath house were constructed during the following two years. The first summer camps were held in 1982, with E.R. Bruce as Camp Director. In 1999, the governing organization was reformed, the name changed to reflect an expanded mission, and plans were made to demolish the old cabins and bath houses to make way for new year-round use facilities. Two new 42' x 60' Lodges, w/central heat/air, were built in 2000. A resident manager house was built in 2002.
Specialties
Reelfoot Youth Camp & Retreat Center is a non-profit organization that operates a year-round facility. We do not operate any camps or retreats ourselves. We rent all or portions of the equipped facility to churches, other organizations, families, and individuals for the their use in conducting summer camps, retreats, family reunions, celebrations, etc. We also rent our buildings for overnight housing for groups coming to our area to visit nearby attractions such as Reelfoot Lake State Park and Discovery Park of America.