In 1954 nearly 200 acres of land were donated by Gnadenhutten, Ohio native John Zimmerman to the Three Rivers District of the Methodist Church. He was an avid naturalist and advocate for the preservation of natural resources. Zimmerman was known to take children into the forest on hikes and educate them on plants and trees and nature in general. The camp was operated as a Christian Youth Camp for several years. The camp was then transferred into the care of the Camp Zimmerman Foundation that consists of representatives from the Moravian and Methodist Churches as well as At-Large community members. The ecumenical foundation has a Board of Trustees that oversees the operation and maintenance of the camp. The foundation is a non-profit organization. The organization’s goal is to provide low cost camping to all groups with Christian ideals. A camp management team resides on site full time to serve the needs of the campers and maintain the camp.