Mount Tabor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP)State of New Jersey Census Designated Places - BVP20 - Data as of January 1, 2020, United States Census Bureau. Accessed December 1, 2022. in Parsippany–Troy Hills Township, Morris County, New Jersey, United States.Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed June 8, 2016. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,244. The community was originally established as a self-governing Methodist camp meeting site.
The Mount Tabor Historic District was listed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the state register in 2015.New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places: Morris County, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office, updated March 25, 2024. Accessed May 20, 2024.
History
Founding Camp meetings, which are outdoor religious revival services, began for the purpose of revitalizing faith, particularly in the aftermath of the American Civil War. In 1866, under the authority of the officers of the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the "Newark Conference Camp Meeting Association of Methodists" operated several annual camp meetings at Lake Speedwell near Morristown, New Jersey. When the owner of the land eventually told the Camp Meeting Association that he was going to sell the property, a group began searching the countryside for a new campsite; they chose a wooded spread of land thick with underbrush and set upon a hill, which they named "Mount Tabor", after the location mentioned in the Bible as the place of Christ's Transfiguration."Unique in topography; Mount Tabor still 'town within town'", Herald News, March 7, 1972. Accessed October 18, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The site was dubbed 'Mount Tabor' because its conical characteristic reminded the purchasers of the topography of its biblical counterpart."
The hill they found for the relocation of the Newark Conference camp meeting was part of a piece of farmland owned by Stephan Dickerson. Dickerson's farmhouse was located on what is now the first hole of the Mount Tabor Country Club. The house was torn down years ago, but its cornerstone is now located in the chimney of a house formerly owned by a member of the Dickerson family at the corner of Route 53 and Durbin Avenue. As part of the agreement of sale, the Dickersons were given the right to operate a store within the campground. The Dickerson family had owned the Foodtown store at the bottom of the hill on Route 53, however it was closed in 2018 due to dwindling business.
Incorporation of the camp meeting in 1869 On March 17, 1869, the incorporation of the "Camp Meeting Association of the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church" came about by virtue of the passage of New Jersey Chapter Law 185 of the Legislative Session of 1869, enacted into law by both the New Jersey Senate and the New Jersey General Assembly.
The chapter law gave the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church the right to operate a religious camp meeting and allowed the church to exercise specific municipal powers with regard to its camp grounds in Mount Tabor.
The Mount Tabor camp meeting was located in what was then Hanover Township. In 1928, Hanover Township was divided into three municipalities, and Mount Tabor became part of the newly formed township of Parsippany–Troy Hills.
In 1869, the same year Mount Tabor was incorporated, the Newark Conference began to establish another camp meeting in Ocean Grove, at the Jersey Shore. This was the premier camp meeting of the Newark Conference and one of the jewels in the crown of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Mount Tabor saw significant popularity as a religious retreat in its early days, but its popularity declined as the general interest in the Methodist religious revival movement gradually decreased over the years. Mount Tabor ceased to be a true religious camp meeting by about 1891, although a United Methodist church remains within the community, which had merged with two other Methodist churches (Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Methodist Protestant Church)., Mount Tabor United Methodist Church. Accessed August 3, 2024.
Mount Tabor's status as a municipality continued until December 31, 1979, when, as a result of a lawsuit brought against Ocean Grove regarding separation of church and state, the New Jersey Supreme Court took away most municipal powers from Mount Tabor and Ocean Grove.Narvaez, Alfonso A. "Mt. Tabor Pondering Ocean Grove Ruling",The New York Times, July 1, 1979. Accessed October 18, 2022. The state supreme court forced each community to become officially incorporated into the neighboring municipalities of Parsippany-Troy Hills and Neptune Township, respectively. Since then, the remaining municipal duties were transferred to Parsippany.
Today, the Camp Meeting Association of the Newark Conference of the Methodist Church, the "CMA", exists as a homeowner association, deriving its power from the homeowners, much like a typical condo or townhouse association. The CMA is governed by twelve elected homeowners, empowered to act as the board of trustees of the CMA. Mount Tabor homeowners own their houses but lease the land on which the homes are built (a land-lease arrangement). The land is leased yearly from the CMA for a nominal amount.
Camp meetings In August 1869, crowds of Methodist campers, many of whom were from the large industrial cities in northern New Jersey, gathered in the rustic area for the ten-day camp meeting. Before living in tents, many members set up home in their horse-driven wagons in which they had ridden to the camp meeting. Many tent owners built wooden floors and cabinets inside their tents to protect belongings from the long, cold winter when the campers returned home. (This unique style of summer tent living can still be seen in Ocean Grove.) Over the years the more affluent members of the community, prominent lawyers, ministers and doctors from the Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, Elizabeth and Morristown areas, were building decorative Victorian-style homes (albeit small enough to fit on the tent lots), to make their encampment in the summer more comfortable.
The annual camp meetings, held for about ten days each August, were facilitated by the Camp Meeting Association trustees under the oversight of the Newark Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The main focus of the camp meeting was to conduct religious services, which included preaching and prayer, and for the purpose of religious education.
Religious services were held once a day (Monday through Saturday), and three times on Sunday. During one early Sunday camp meeting it was said that such an enormous crowd of people (of up to 10,000) gathered that, besides the three regular services, two additional ministers preached simultaneously at different areas in Trinity Place, sometimes known as "The Circle". In addition to attending services, families strolled along trails which wound their way through the woodlands of Mount Tabor and Tabor Lake.
Those campers unaccustomed to "roughing it" in tents could choose to board at the new Arlington Hotel. The hotel was built in 1877 by Trustee David Campbell with the understanding that when he had reimbursed himself from its income, the building would become the property of the association. However, over time the quaint Arlington fell into such disrepair it had to be taken down many years ago. Part of the foundation remains and is being used as a retaining wall for the town's parking lot.
Over the years, the crowds that swarmed into Mount Tabor for the annual Camp Meeting diminished except for a few hundred persons who decided to stay and set up year-round homes where tents once stood. Some older residents who attended the camp meetings believed the decreasing crowds were caused by regulations such as the one that prohibited parking of wagons on the campgrounds. This measure was enacted to deal with the numbers of people who came to the camp meetings purely for the pleasure of the surroundings. Traffic in the town would be banned from midnight Sunday to midnight Monday, much as it was in Ocean Grove until 1980. In 1911, as allowed by the charter of 1869, homes were established under a 99-year lease to the Camp Meeting Association (home prices ranged from $300 to $2,500). In 1969, the 99-year leases ended and were renewed as a perpetual lease. Mount Tabor homeowners (known as "leaseholders") paid a yearly rent to the Camp Meeting Association for their lots with their town assessment and township taxes. The association rent is now proportionately low; two dollars per year for small lots and four dollars a year for the larger ones.
As the tents gave way to small cottages, development in Mount Tabor spread out from Trinity Place, an area that included three octagonal buildings - the Tabernacle, Bethel, and Ebenezer pavilions. Since there were no longer crowds of people, the Bethel was large enough to house the townspeople during Sunday service. A minister was hired each Sunday by the CMA to lead services in this building. Used as a court when Mount Tabor was a municipality (with the basement acting as the jail), the Bethel is now used for civic affairs, residents' use, and by the Board of Trustees for monthly public meetings.
Children's Day What has come to be known as Children's Day started in the 1870s as a Sunday School parade around Trinity Place, the original location of the camp meeting religious services. Following the parade, the children were treated to ice cream, compliments of Day's ice cream tent (a Day's Ice Cream store still exists in Ocean Grove).
The Children's Day custom is known as "Walking Day" in England, where churches organize parades, provide refreshments to participants and generally have a holiday. Children's Day has evolved into a unique community festival in Mount Tabor and is still a focal point of summer on "The Hill".
Development as a community Water has been, by necessity, an important aspect in the development of Mount Tabor. From the beginning, shallow lines existed to provide water to residents. However, they had to be drained for the winter for fear of freezing, thus preventing year-round occupancy. In 1909 deep water mains were laid in the streets and a standpipe erected, allowing water to be provided to winter residents. As the years passed, water from the Tabor wells became affected by vegetable matter, and it was found necessary to employ water from township wells. A contract was entered with Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, and this is how the community gets its water today. Now the water tower in St. John's park functions only as a reminder of the past.
During the Great Depression, many properties were allowed to decay and deteriorate, and large sums of unpaid assessments accumulated. In 1932 there was still $8,000 of the bonds of 1909 outstanding, but by careful management and diligent collection of back assessments these bonds were paid off and the mortgage burned on October 1, 1934. Since then there has been no debt and Mount Tabor is running strictly on a cash basis, with a budget of approximately a quarter million dollars. If assessments are paid promptly, the Board of Trustees expects to continue public improvement out of annual income.
As the years rolled by, many cottages were converted into winter residences by connection with deep water mains and by the modernization of walls and heating apparatus. A chestnut blight came and devastated the stately trees in the town. In 1935, 62 cottages were occupied during winter; in 1938 this number had increased to 109. The last summer residence was winterized in 2001.