Meadville KOA Campground is turning 40 this year! It’s expected to be another busy summer
camping season for this hidden treasure in NW PA. The campground has a history of serving
camping families and also has a rich area heritage that pre-dates it as a
campground.
The McClemens family, who originally purchased the land from
the Holland Land Company in 1893, built a homestead and barn here in 1914, in
an area known at that time, as McClemen’s flats.
In 1945, the Roae family purchased the property and turned
the farm into an auction barn and built ponds for a fish hatchery where they
raised and sold flathead minnows for fishing in Pymatuning Lake. In 1978, they turned the auction barn and
farm into Brookdale 1914 Campground, taking the name directly from the date on
the old red barn and the brook that runs through the center of the
property.
According to the current owners, Tim and Robyn Chilson,
people still come in and talk about the big barn with roller skating in the top
of it at the campground. The barn served
as the main building complex for the campground until it burned down in
1984. The campers helped rebuild the
main building, which serves the local community and campers with a convenience
store. The main building also houses a
rec. hall, game room, restrooms, showers, and laundry facility for the camper’s
use.
In 1983, the campground had only 60 campsites. The Smorey family added another 100 plus
sites to the campground prior to the Chilson family purchasing it in October of
1999.
The Chilsons have continued to expand the campground, adding
ten additional 50 amp sites, 2 deluxe cabins, a camping cabin, a mini golf
course, a jumping pillow, new playgrounds, and sewer service to all seasonal
campsites and 23 additional overnight campsites, Wi-Fi, and cable TV to all
full-hookup overnight and seasonal campsites!
In 2010, the Chilsons franchised with Kampgrounds of
America, and joined North America’s largest and best known camping
organization. KOA boasts almost 500
campgrounds across the United States and Canada. According to owner Tim Chilson, the
campground infrastructure improvements are to continually improve the
campground and to meet the ever-changing needs of the RVer. “As the technology changes and RVing changes,
we have to expand our infrastructure not only to continue to meet our customers
expectations, but to exceed them. We also need to maintain KOA quality
standards which stays at the forefront of those RVer demands.”
Meadville KOA is rated in the top of campgrounds
nationally. In addition, camper reviews
have helped us achieve the KOA Founder’s and President’s Awards again for
2017-2018. “We’re already booking this
year for many of our summer and holiday weekends. We have campers who stay with us every season
who have their sites already reserved, and the phone is still ringing,” Chilson
said.
In addition, Chilson added that their seasonal camper
numbers are up, but they still have some availability for the 2018 camping
season. “Seasonal campers,” Chilson
explained, “are people who park their RV at the campground for the entire
summer. As such, they can drive more
economical vehicles to the campground instead of towing, and save money on fuel,
and all the work of short term camping.
They get the maximum use of their RV for minimal costs and less work.”
Meadville KOA is hosting a 40th Birthday Weekend
on June 10 to celebrate the campground’s 40th year of operation! We’re
inviting campers who’ve camped with us over the years to come and visit for the
afternoon and take a stroll down memory lane with us! There will be photos from seasons gone by,
cake, ice cream and some social time with our campers. They can visit with old friends and maybe make
some new friends! “We’re not just
celebrating our 40th anniversary one weekend,” Chilson said, “We’ll
be celebrating it all summer long!”
The Chilson family hopes the business will continue to grow
by introducing more people to the fun and family oriented events and activities
they provide at the campground. “We
continue do a host of fun events and activities every summer,” Chilson
said.
Chilson added, “As an example, our campers continue to
support us by inviting their friends to come try Meadville KOA. Friends and family are still our biggest
source of new camper referrals, and has been for the 18 years we’ve owned the
park. This year, on Oct 14 & 15, we
have a customer appreciation weekend and BOGO.
When an existing camper brings a new camping family with them, each
family gets one night free when they buy a night. It’s a great way to introduce their friends
to Meadville KOA and it’s a great way for us to thank them for doing
that.”
Meadville KOA invites current and past campers to join them
for this great celebration! The cake and
ice cream will be Saturday afternoon at 2:00!
We hope you’ll stop in, bring your old photos, and visit with old
friends and maybe make some new friends.
Tim & Robyn Chilson
CPOs, own and operate Meadville KOA Campground.
Robyn can be reached at robyn@meadvillekoa.com.
