Company Profile
Camp Magruder
Company Overview
Camp Magruder resides along one of the most pristine stretches of ocean and beach in the Pacific Northwest. The large acreage is located south of the small coastal community of Rockaway Beach, Oregon.
The cabins and lodges are surrounded by a dunes and forest landscape that includes a wetlands and Smith Lake. The camp has been providing opportunities for camp & retreat programs for children, youth, adults and families for over 65 years.
The camp facility is open year-round for all ages and contains a wide range of lodging, cooking, meeting and recreation facilities for groups up to 250 persons. Meal service is available in our dining hall for groups up to 250 persons. Camp Magruder welcomes reservations from non-profit groups and organizations.
Camp Magruder has a wide variety of lodges and cabins. Some lodges are self-contained with restroom and kitchen facilities as well as a meeting or activity space. Cabins sleep dorm-style with a nearby bathhouse for restrooms and showers. Bring your own sleeping bags or bedding, towels and toiletries. The camp can reserve a TV/VCR, overhead projector, or projection screen for group programs.
Camp Magruder offers food service in the dining hall for groups up to 250 people. The meals are nutritious and delicious, offering home-made breads and soups, fresh fruit and vegetables, and vegetarian alternatives.
The Camp Magruder Store can be opened for your group. We have T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, mugs, stuffed donkeys, and donkey bookmarks. We also have candy, soda, juice, chips and other food items. Schedule your store time upon arrival.
We hope you will enjoy our nature trails, outdoor recreation, spiritual growth and team building programs, and much more during your stay.
Company History
History
The Landscape
"Before any European ever saw this place, before the first explorers and missionaries set foot on this ground, there was beside the ocean a stretch of wetland, a narrow strip of dune tucked in between the river and the sea. The Miami River, which now flows into Tillamook Bay, followed a more northerly course which brought it to the sea near Barview. Later, through geologic events, the river's course changed, leaving behind a narrow fresh-water lake which hugged the dunes and isolated the land between it and the ocean. This lake, later to be named Smith Lake in honor of Captain Lloyd C. Smith, soon became home to many forms of animal and plant life, and part of the home to human beings as well."
The Vision
"The initial discovery of the Barview site and its subsequent purchase by the Methodists might have remained the dream of a few dedicated persons had it not been for the leadership of many people. The work of Dr. J. Edgar Purdy, Superintendent of the Salem District of the Oregon Conference from June, 1939 until his death in April, 1945, was significant. Dr. Purdy was the lone voice of support with in the cabinet during those critical first years. He was also a keeper of scrapbooks. Many of the records of the early days of the camp were preserved in the files of Dr. Purdy."
"Another early supporter of the site was Frank M. Phelps, a lay member of the Sunnyside Methodist Church in Portland, and an attorney. Much of the legal work which went into the process of creating Camp Magruder was done by Phelps who maintained a life long interest in the camp's development. Phelps was one of the first members of what was to become the Barview Site Committee. He was also instrumental in obtaining funds for the boat house which bears his name."
"However, of all those who brought the dream of an Epworth League Institute and Methodist youth camp to life, it was Frank Magruder who's name was to eventually become identified with the results. Dr. Frank Abbott Magruder was a native of Virginia, educated at Princeton, and a professor of political science and international relations at Oregon State College (now OSU) in Corvallis. His avocation was writing high school textbooks, and in this endeavor he was very successful. He chose to live on his teaching salary and used the considerable royalties from his books to support church work and other charity causes. His interest in youth related work was considerable."
The Purchase
"Dr. Magruder was one of the twenty-five men brought out to the Barview by Rev. Jesse Bunch in 1937. According to Bunch, Magruder was slow to be won over to the site. Yet, once convinced of the need for action, Magruder took it upon himself to become involved. Magruder, in a report to the 1942 Annual Conference session, presented a resolution to offer to the owners of the Barview site the sum of $6,000 for purchase of the property. His motion was adopted and soon thereafter, the Jackson family (long time owners of the property) accepted, and the Barview site came into Methodist hands on March 19, 1943."
"In the summer of 1945, the first "official" Methodist Youth Institutes were held on Methodist property on the Oregon coast. The dream of so many had become a reality at last! Two years later, on July 4, 1947, in an official dedication service, the Barview site was officially named Camp Magruder."
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
Camp Magruder is a cooperative ministry of the OR-ID conference of the United Methodist Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon on the Beautiful coast of Oregon. We are sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean on the west and Iconic Hwy 101 on the east.