What’s in a name? The impressive brick building with the wraparound veranda situated on a rise of land above New Leicester Highway, is well known by the people of Leicester but by different names and for different uses over its almost 125 years of existence.
Why “Camp”? Goes back to the Methodist Church in North America's tradition of campground revival meetings. Read local historian Greg Brookshire's recounting of how the Camp Academy Building, the Leicester Community Center and the acres owned now by the Lawter family were the site of The Turkey Creek Campground.
Why "Academy"? Constructed in 1896-7 as a school, a private "tuition academy," for the young people of Leicester and surrounding communities. The Camp Academy remained a school for seventeen years, and a teacher's training institute for several years during that time until the construction of Leicester School brought publicly funded education to our part of Buncombe County. Camp Academy School Years
Why "Forest"? The building was operated for a few years in the 1920's as the Camp Forest Hotel. Very little information about that time is available to us and we would be pleased to know more. The Hotel Years
Why "I always wondered what that building was"? After being a school and hotel, the building and grounds were sold by the Methodist Church and became an apartment building owned over the years by a succession of well-known local families. The first family to own the building were the Garretts of Big Sandy Mush
And "Medical Clinic"? In 1983, Clarence Carver sold the building to Light of the Mountains, Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to Sufism, a form of Islamic mysticism. The Waters of Life Family Health Center, operated by the group, was headquartered in a significantly renovated building. The founders of the clinic undertook a massive “re-make” of the building, effectively saving the place. They also applied for National Registry of Historical Places status.
And TODAY? The medical clinic up on the hill did not survive for long (more about this later) and the building was converted back into apartments. The good old “pile of bricks” was purchased by The Myers Family in 2004.
Currently the building still retains the layout left after its 1990’s apartment rehab. It is being upgraded unit by unit while retaining as much original character as was left. More on that process will be added later.