Epworth Heights is a summer resort located in Ludington, Michigan, in the United States.
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Epworth Heights was founded in 1894 by Justus Smith Stearns and others.[1] It began as a Methodist Chautauqua-style family camping experience on the shores of Lake Michigan. There was to be a two-week program of entertainment and spiritual teaching to benefit the Ludington area residents. An agreement between the Citizen's Development Company of Ludington and the Epworth League Assembly of Big Rapids was signed on May 6 of that year. By mid-July, a mere ten weeks later, the Hotel, Auditorium and classrooms that had been hastily built were ready for the first two-week session. Families camped in tents on the sandy beaches and enjoyed the programming as well as the lakeside vistas.
It was decided that leasing plots of land to allow for the building of cottages would be a good way to raise money and assure a future for the venture. For five dollars a year, a member of the assembly could purchase the right to build a cottage on his leasehold. Several cottages were built in 1895; by 1909, there were close to 100. These were not year-round cottages, but simple wooden structures built along walks that lined the Lake Michigan shore.
The Chautauqua programs continued until 1924, but were replaced with other speakers of a spiritual or cultural nature. Over the years, the number of cottages has grown to over two hundred, each named by the family holding the lease. Cottages are also available for rent, but there are many requirements for renting including three letters of reference from lease-holders.
The Epworth Hotel no longer has rooms but serves as a meeting place for the residents to pick up mail, drink coffee at the cafe, purchase resort wear and knick-knacks at the shop, get their hair and nails done, or take advantage of the small lending library. Upstairs, the Historical Museum houses pictures and household items from the early days. There is also a small apartment on the second floor, known as the Upper Room, which is occupied by the visiting ministers and their families who come weekly during the summer season. Each minister, including those outside of the Methodist faith, is invited to spend a week in the apartment after his or her Sunday service in the Auditorium and evening vespers in the Marine Dining Room or the Vespers Bleachers. The visiting minister also provides an hour and a half discussion of any topic they choose, at our Monday morning program called Monday Musings.