Camp Illiana has been a source of inspiration to the thousands that have experienced its tranquility and beauty since 1949. The Camp is located four miles south of Washington just off of Troy Road on East County Road 450 South. The first camp was held in the summer of 1950.

A group of local men in the late 1940’s saw a need for a Christian camp and began making plans. Some notable names were A. Burton Clark, Desco Newton, Floyd Bennington and Rufus Gerkin. The group borrowed $5000.00 to start the project.

   Since its opening in 1950 there have been eight camp managers. A. Burton Clark, 1950 to 1953. Rufus Gerkin, 1954. Ben Ray Bean, 1955 to 1962. Ronald Cordrey, 1963 to 1969. Earl Beaty, 1970 to 1973. Alex Troutman, 1974 to 1988. Ed Furnas, 1989 to 1992. Doug Bowman, 1992 to 2006.  David Bean began as the current Executive Director in the spring of 2007.

   Since 1949, many improvements have been made at Camp Illiana. The original camp consisted of six cabins, a dining hall, office, several shelters, concession stand and a manager residence.

   The 70’s brought a new chapel building, swimming pool, and a maintenance building. In 1983, a second manager’s house was built. 1994 was the beginning of renovation and replacement of many of the camp’s buildings.

Lake View Lodge was constructed where Hudson and Wabash cabins once stood. Completed in 1995, it sleeps 116 people in ten rooms; it also has a worship area for 250, two large modern restrooms, a kitchen, a large basement classroom and several storage rooms. That fall, Sullivan, Washington and Jackson County cabins were taken down to make way for Valley View lodge. Completed in 1996, this building houses 132 beds in 11 rooms, has a full size gymnasium, modern restrooms, stage and two classrooms. Both buildings also serve as storm shelters.

   During this time, the Dining Hall, Maplewood cabin, Dogwood cabin and old manager’s house also received extensive renovation, making Camp Illiana completely winterized and ready for year round use. 1996 saw the paving of all the camp roads and parking areas. 1998, the camp office was remodeled and added on to, and now houses five offices and a storage area.

   Many additions were added in the area of recreation as well. A 25 foot climbing wall, giant swing, 700 foot zip-line, water slide and repelling tower were built from 1996 to 1999. In 2000, a second swimming pool was constructed beside the first pool, giving us swimming capacity for over 150 campers. 2003 brought a five-station high ropes course, purchased with a grant from the Daviess Community Foundation. In 2004 the open-air chapel located behind the office was converted to Joshua Lodge, which has 9 bedrooms, 2 large meeting rooms, 2 kitchens and 4 bathrooms. In June of 2008, a poolside spiral waterslide was added. And in 2010 the concession stand was enlarged to house a store called the Shirt Shack. 2010 also saw the building of Baker Bridge, a 145-foot bridge spanning the valley between Lakeview and Valley View Lodges.  This bridge was built by Fred Baker and the 2010 summer staff and was subsequently named in honor of Fred.  In the fall of 2010, the entrance to camp was widened and paved all the way to the dining hall, allowing a much-needed improvement to our traffic flow.

   Camp Illiana was run by just the manager and his wife (along with volunteer help) until the spring of 1995, when a full time assistant manager and registrar, Tom and Julie Watson, were hired. In 2001, Rex and Jo Ann Burton replaced the Watsons and in 2007,Tucker McPherson took over the part-time maintenance role, then subsequently Jim McPherson in 2010. Ellen Raymond joined the staff in 2002 as Program Director, handling publicity and website management as well. Melissa Lawyer assumed the role of Office Manager in May 2009. And last, but certainly not least, is our veteran staff member, Fred Baker. Fred has been at camp as a volunteer and employee on a part-time basis since the early 1970’s, working in the areas of construction, maintenance and landscaping.