The Story of Cross Roads...
Cross Roads is blessed with a rich and unique history in its several incarnations. It all began in the 1930’s with a
group of visionaries who dreamed of building the first interracial community in America. Their dream became a
reality with the founding of Camp Wo-Chi-Ca (short for Workers’ Children’s Camp) in 1933. Camp Wo-Chi-Ca was
celebrated for its unique multicultural atmosphere in which Christians and Jews, blacks and whites all lived and
played and grew together, in an otherwise segregated America. This visionary space attracted several famous
people, including singer/song writer Pete Seeger and actor/musician Paul Robeson (and Cuban musical sensation
Tito Puente was a camper!). Robeson was on the camp’s Board of Trustees and was a frequent visitor and
honored guest. It was during this time that the first cabins and buildings on camp were built, including a large
Quonset hut with an outdoor/indoor amphitheatre, named the Paul Robeson Playhouse. Both the Quonset hut and
the amphitheatre are still used today for large group events and as a general recreation hall. Wo-Chi-Ca peaked in
the 1940s, and it won great admiration for its contributions in World War II and continued practice of racial equality.
Unfortunately, the camp was forced to close in 1952 with the convergence of several factors, which included local
animosity caused by hysteria from the Red Scare as well as a polio outbreak. Nonetheless, nothing could take away
from the highly successful decades of a vision and commitment to social equality that was far ahead of its time.
(For more information on that part of our history, you can visit www.wo-chi-ca.org.)
The loss of Wo-Chi-Ca was ultimately a gain for church camping in New Jersey. The Lutheran Church bought the
camp, renamed it Camp Beisler, and opened for its first summer in 1953. It was primarily a summer camp for
children until 1962, when the main Lodge was built, marking the beginning of the year-round retreat ministry. In the
late 1970’s, the first full-time director at Beisler was hired to oversee both the summer camp program and year-
round retreaters. In 1988, a merger of over 20 separate Lutheran denominations took place, forming the ELCA.
Camp Beisler became part of the New Jersey Synod of the new ELCA.
Meanwhile, the Episcopal Diocese of Newark founded its own camp, Eagle’s Nest, in 1922. It was located on the
banks of the Delaware River in northwest New Jersey. Eagle’s Nest continued successful uninterrupted operation
until the 1970’s when the Diocese decided to move its location. For nearly 20 years the camp was as a nomadic
camp operating from a variety of locations.
In the mid-1990s, amidst national dialogues of greater ecumenism between the Episcopal and Lutheran
denominations, discussion began in New Jersey for a possible joint initiative. This grew in 1997 into concrete
negotiations for a merger, and was ultimately finalized in 1999, when the Episcopalians joined the Lutherans on the
site of Camp Beisler. The modern era of Cross Roads was born.
Just as Wo-Chi-Ca was a pioneer in its own time, Cross Roads is a pioneer in the modern-day ecumenical
movement, being the first and only camp in America owned jointly by separate denominations. To this day, Cross
Roads continues to be a progressive and visionary place of retreat, growth, renewal, and inspiration where all are
welcome and the diversity of our human experiences is honored as sacred. We invite you to experience the magic
of Cross Roads!
