Universalists visiting the site of Potter and Murray's meeting
and
Murray's sermon found neither the land nor the chapel any longer in
Universalist hands. In the 1830s, groups led by Rev. Abel C. Thomas
made a
series of pilgrimages to Good Luck, and in 1833 raised a stone over
Potter's
grave. By now well organized, the Universalists decided to try and
purchase
the site back from the Methodists. Unsuccessful, they then bought what
they
called the Memorial Acre, adjacent to the original site. This was the
kernel
around which Murray Grove was formed.
Piece by piece, more property was purchased, to commemorate
Murray
and Potter and for the use of Universalist pilgrims. In time a church
was
built: the Potter Memorial Church, better known as the Red Brick
Church. It
was dedicated in 1885. The Murray Grove Association organized in 1886,
and
was incorporated in 1891, as the guiding body for Murray Grove.
Murray Grove House, on the location of the current Lodge
building,
was first erected in 1890. Renovated over the years, it came to be a
three-story hotel: the center of a thriving Universalist summer
retreat.
During the summer season each year, people gathered from all over the
mid-Atlantic and New York-New Jersey regions for religious and social
events.
The first half of the twentieth century was the heyday of
Murray
Grove. It expanded further, in all directions, including the purchase
of the
property on which the Ballou House stands. The Memorial Boulder was set
up
outside the church in 1902. There were celebrations and pilgrimages on
the
centenary, 150th and bicentennial anniversaries of John Murray's
sermon, as
well as the 50th and 100th birthdays of the Murray Grove Association.
In 1955, during the annual Homecoming, Murray Grove House
burned to
the ground. In its place, the current buildings were put up. Murray
Grove
became a Universalist Camp and Conference Center - and from the time of
the
merger in 1961, Unitarian Universalist. The 1960s and 70s were again an
especially active period. Then, as families grew up, the tendency was
more
for church groups to use the facility on weekends.
The Red Brick Church burned down in 1973. The bell next to the
Boulder is all that's left. That same year, the old Potter house was
finally
razed as unsalvageable.
As they have for over a hundred years, groups of Unitarian
Universalists continue to come on retreat, taking advantage of its
natural
beauty and recreational opportunities, and honoring the history. In
1995, the
two hundred acres of the original Potter Homestead were purchased by
the U.S.
Interior Department as part of the Edwin B. Forsythe Wildlife Preserve,
ensuring that it will remain undeveloped. Guests still use the two-mile
nature trail down to the bay.
With Homecoming 2000, Murray Grove celebrated both the 230th
anniversary of Murray’s seminal sermon and our on-going renovation and
revitalization.
