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The Father of Camping
This episode begins a series of the origins of RVing in America. It really began before automobiles even existed. The 1860s was a rough time in America, with the Civil War being fought from 1861 to 1865. With that, the nation was divided over slavery and other issues. At this time, William Murray became an adult and started a major movement in the U.S. called camping!
William Henry Harrison Murray, the father of recreational camping in America, was born in Guilford, Connecticut, in April 1840. His love of nature developed due to a quack doctor’s recommendation that he follow a plow as it turned soil.
After graduating from Yale University and becoming a pastor at Corner Church in Boston, Murray took his first vacation to the Adirondacks of New York, which sparked an enthusiasm for camping. He wrote essays about his experiences which were later compiled into Adventures In The Wilderness: or Camp-Life In The Adirondacks, published by Osgood Fields & Co. in 1869, igniting “Murray’s Rush” – an influx of thousands visitors to journey to the Adirondacks to go camping.
Despite some criticism over unprepared infrastructure around Saranac Lake, William H. H. Murray’s work helped establish camping as one of America’s favorite pastimes while encouraging people back into nature away from the urbanization and its negative health effects.
We hope you enjoy this episode and stay tuned for future episodes about the origins of RVing.
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Safe travels.
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