The History of Quaker Ridge Camp
In the mid-1940s, the Pueblo Quarterly Meeting of Young Friends started a youth camping program under the sponsorship of Millard and Helen Powell. Over the years, they had rented various campsites but as their program continued to grow with kids coming from all over Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska, it was decided they should buy land and build their own camp.
In December of 1948, the 440-acre parcel that is now Quaker Ridge Camp was purchased with pledges and donations from all of the Friends churches in the area. The goal was to have the camp up and running for the youth in the summer of 1949, so they cut the road in from highway 67, ordered a portable sawmill from Kansas City, and started construction on the first buildings of the camp using logs from the property. The Lodge was completed just in time for the start of the first summer camp at Quaker Ridge. It is now called Fell Lodge and the Frying Pan Café and it’s still in use today!
By 1950, Quaker Ridge had four buildings: the Lodge, shower houses for boys and girls, a cook’s cabin, and a house for the light plant.
The chapel was added in 1954 and was named the Millard V. Powell Memorial Chapel in honor of the person who started the camping program and the vision caught through Millard’s faithfulness.
Other buildings were added over the years, including more dorms, a swimming pool, basketball and volleyball courts, and the Caper Center. In 1994, the Quaker Ridge Board agreed God was leading them to build a new facility in order to enhance the ministry of the camp: a retreat and conference center that would provide a comfortable atmosphere for people of all ages to enjoy year-round. Clark Lodge is the realization of this God-inspired vision. With its comfortable hotel-style rooms and sweeping views of the Front Range, it has become a focal point of much of the ministry that happens at Quaker Ridge.
Quaker Ridge Saw Mill 1949
Quaker Ridge Saw Mill 1949
Quaker Ridge Cook House 1949
Quaker Ridge Cook, Sadie Jones, 1949