A Brief History of Camp Grier

Camp Grier was founded July 15, 1952.  During the 1940s, Concord Presbytery used Camp Fellowship, owned by Barium Springs Orphanage, on the Catawba River.  When Duke Power revealed plans to build Lake Norman, the Presbytery was in danger of losing its camping facilities.  Robert D. Grier of Statesville, NC, purchased 600 acres of land near Old Fort, NC, in the summer of 1950 in order to start another camp for the Concord Presbytery.  Mr. Grier set up a saw mill on the camp property and volunteers from the churches built the buildings in Main Camp.  These buildings included Hemlock (dining hall), Rhododendron, Poplar, Oak, Holly, Dogwood, the Trading Post, and Beech Pavilion.  The camp was named in memory of Mr. Grier's father, the Rev. John McDill Grier.