1947-Present
Judson Cabin, Camp Bentley
Drake North Dakota ND
In the mid-20th century, Mrs. Anna Bentley owned a ranch near Drake, ND, and wanted her legacy to include “a religious youth camp for posterity.” A delegation of North Dakota Baptists met with her for the first time in November 1946 and by March 1947 a deed for land was procured. That same spring the unused Bethania Lutheran Church was purchased and moved to the shores of Lake Bentley to serve as the chapel. Three additional buildings were procured for $3900 from an abandoned CCC Camp at Trenton, ND, and moved to the campsite. The facility opened in July 1947 with 152 campers, turnaround of only 9 months.[i]
One of those three buildings from the CCC Camp was named for the Judsons and now serves a cabin for girls. Other structures at Camp Bentley are named for churches that provided financing or for missionary heroes who serve as models for Dakota youth. The Judsons were one of the missionaries selected as exemplars for North Dakota youth and the story of their ministry to Burma is displayed in the Judson Cabin.[ii] The camp bell tolls loudly each summer day to remind the Bentley heirs across the lake that their wish is being accomplished on the north side of the water at Judson Cabin.
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[i] JoAnne and Don Shoemaker, North Dakota Baptist State Convention, 1884-1984 (published by American Baptists of North Dakota and in the possession of Deborah Greenup at the office of American Baptist Churches of the Dakotas in Sioux Falls, SD), pp. 28-29.
[ii] Email to the compiler from Lori Dvirnak Lundblad, November 18, 2024.