The St. Methodios Faith and Heritage Center is a 223-acre (90 ha) camp run by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston and located in the town of Hopkinton, New Hampshire near the village of Contoocook. The site occupies the former village of Cloughville and had previously been home to Camp Merrimac.
Programs and uses
The center is home to the Metropolis of Boston Camp, a coed program that holds six one–week summer sessions, two weekend winter sessions, and other programs throughout the year.[1] The camp serves children from the ages of 8–18,[2] and each year attracts approximately 120 campers and 50 staff members, with the capacity of up to 140 campers per week.[3] Formerly known by the name Boston Diocese Camp, the program's name was changed with the diocese's elevation to a metropolis in late 2002.[4] By 2011, the summer camp attracted close to 800 attendees, growing considerably from the 200 that it used to accommodate in the early years.[5]
The property that is now St. Methodios was a community known as "Cloughville" in the 19th century. In 1919, the patriarchs of the Clough family, Joseph and Sylvia Clough, died, and the property was sold to Mr. Price and Mr. Pick of New York, who established Camp Merrimac, a summer camp for Jewish boys, on the site. The first campers arrived in 1921. The camp was in a scenic location at the end of a dirt road on a lake officially known as Clement Pond, but known to generations of Merrimac campers as Lake Josylvia. Several of the old Cloughville buildings survived the transition—the local post office became the camp office. The ice house was the head counselor's shack. The village hall housed the mature staff, and a 19th-century barn lasted until it fell down one winter about 1960.
Mr. Price and Mr. Pick ran Camp Merrimac until the late 1940s when it was purchased by Abe Beleson, a teacher at the Bronx High School of Science. In 1953, Maury Bleifeld became a part owner, and in 1954 Harry Levine bought a share of the camp. In 1957, Werner Rothschild, Robert "Bob" Bomze, and Fred Egre purchased the property.
In 1958, Egre was bought out while Rothchild and Bomze continued operating the camp. Keeping the name Camp Merrimac, they continued to run a general summer camp program. One innovation they introduced in the 1960s was to have counselors from England, Sweden, and other European countries. In addition, being physical education teachers, they began the New England Hockey Camp and New England Figure Skating Camp. Youth would travel by bus to Concord, New Hampshire, to the Everett Arena for ice time.
Both boys and girls attended the camp from after World War II until 1998. The majority of campers came from the New York metropolitan area at first. From the late 1980s until the end campers came from all over the United States, plus Canada, Mexico and Europe.
Nearing retirement, and perhaps a bit exhausted after 40+ summers at camp, Mr. Rothschild and Mr. Martin (as Bomze was then known) were ready to sell. They wanted the property to remain a youth facility. They were searching for a buyer who would continue youth programs. In September 1998, the camp was sold to the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston.[7]
St. Methodios
The completed Retreat House as seen in summer 2010
The Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston established a youth camp program in 1990.[8] After years of using other area camp grounds around New England to support the growing community,[6] the Metropolis decided to buy its own campground. The former 191-acre (77 ha) Camp Merrimac property was purchased with the help of a $500,000 donation by former pharmaceutical company owner George D. Behrakis in the summer of 1998.[9]
Regular camp sessions began at the site in 1999,[10] along with an ambitious program to winterize, improve, and expand the campground. As part of this modernization program, new water and waste water systems were designed and installed, the cafeteria was renovated, adding a new kitchen, and the rec hall was remodeled. The former barn was extended and a bell tower added to create a 200-seat chapel and all of the cabins on the eastern side of the camp were rebuilt over a ten-year period.[6]
In 2006, Metropolitan Methodios and the Camp and Retreat Center Committee drafted plans for a new lodge on the shore of Clement Pond which would consist of 30 rooms with private accommodations for families, couples, individuals, clergy and laity.[6] The plan was met with criticism from area property owners who felt that the new building would bring "noise, traffic and lighting [that] will destroy the place they go to get away",[10] but it was ultimately approved by the Hopkinton Zoning Board of Adjustment in 2007.[11] After the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Hopkinton Zoning Board, construction began in the summer of 2008.[12]
There are a multitude of structures on the property, including the St. George Chapel, an infirmary, a main office, several cabins, a dining hall, and a boat house. There are also two basketball courts, a soccer field, a volleyball pit, and a small beach on the lake. As of December 2022, there are plans to build an indoor gymnasium/recreation style center.
^Schoenberg, Shira (2007-01-29). "Religious center stirs up dispute over serenity - Lakeside residents say they fear noise". Concord Monitor. Today, the campsite has a dining hall, a recreation hall, a chapel, offices and cabins that can hold up to 140 people. Sintros runs a summer camp for five weeks each year, which attracts about 120 campers and 50 counselors. The Russian Orthodox Church runs another week-long camp. There are also two weekend winter camps and other weekend retreat groups, which average about 25 to 40 people on two weekends a month, Sintros said.
^Camp Merrimac, LLC v. Town of Hopkinton, Docket No.: 18289-99EX (Town of Hopkinton Board of Tax and Land Appeals May 9, 2002), Text.
^Ribadeneira, Diego (1998-06-20). "Old North Balances Piety and Patriotism". The Boston Globe. Metropolitan Methodios, bishop of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of Boston, received a welcome surprise recently when George Behrakis, a well-known church benefactor, announced that he was donating $500,000 toward the purchase of a diocesan camp and retreat center. Behrakis, who runs a pharmaceutical company, revealed his donation at a diocesan dinner. The camp and retreat center will be located in Contoocook, N.H.
