At Poplar Springs Methodist Camp Ground, camp meetings have been held each year since 1832 except for four years during the War Between the States. The 50-acre plot, “extending one-half mile in every direction from the preacher’s stand,” was purchased from Daniel and Jacob Groover for $25 by trustees William Hammons, John F. Wilson, George Shell, John B. Wade, Dennis Phillips, Thomas King, and Rev. Nelson Osborne. The first meeting, in August 1832, was held under a brush arbor with 30 tents on the ground, with women seated on one side of the arbor and men on the other. John W. Osborne, appointed usher, served at every meeting until his death in 1914.