Description
Camp Meeting Rock has always been an important site for the people of Heard County. Located just 52 miles southwest of Atlanta on the western edge of the state near Franklin, Camp Meeting Rock is the site of the historic Flatrock Methodist Campground. The property earned its name in the latter part of the 19th century, when families would camp and hold religious meetings during the summer months in the shadow of the property’s stunning granite outcrop.
Today, the campground is adjacent to a 130-acre preserve which protects the granite flatrock landscape and the wide variety of life it supports. In addition to lichen and moss covered rock, vernal pools and vegetated soil islands, the preserve is also home to sandy oak, pine and hickory forests. Within its borders are some of Georgia’s rarest—and most endangered—plants, including the black-spored quillwort, which is found at fewer than 10 locations globally.
The preserve’s rock formations are part of one of the largest granite outcrops in Georgia’s Piedmont area, which rises 100 feet above the surrounding forest and stretches across 250 acres.
Today, Camp Meeting Rock remains an important site for meetings, camping and other recreational activities, but also for The Nature Conservancy, which works with local and volunteers to protect the area from incompatible forestry practices, quarrying and traffic.