Family owned since 1997, G&R Campground offers a great option for local camping. Sitting on 30 acres of land, the campground offers over 200 RV and tent sites, cabins, glamping options and other amenities. The campground is open all year and offers options for events, such as weddings, music festivals, reunions and more.
In 2024, owners Leonard and Yolanda Young, who purchased the campground a few years ago from Norman Dempster, were awarded an EDGE grant which they have used to renovate the activity hall in addition to other amenities they were already funding on their own. Since purchasing the property, the Young’s have added solar panels, upgraded the general store, added hammocks, a park, outdoor games and a garden. They have also updated landscaping and improved the Wi-Fi.
The Young’s, both Newark natives, married in 2019 and began investing in real estate. Leonard is the founder of DelawareBlack.com and the National Black Guide. Yolanda is the founder of Business Babes as well as a federal procurement consulting firm Walker Young LLC. They learned that Dempster was interested in selling the property which he bought for his mother to turn into a campground.
“Once we learned, we were intrigued,” Yolanda said in a past interview. “We took a drive to check it out and immediately began negotiating to purchase it. We did not know that Norman was looking for a black buyer in order to keep the history alive, so it really did work out.”
G&R Campground has a rich and colorful history, named for Gun and Rod Club which was created for black veterans returning from the war. In order to differentiate between rod and gun clubs which were historically “whites only,” the words were reversed to make it clear the Houston club was a black establishment. The club was on the land long before Dempsey purchased it.
“My mother was very religious, always going to church retreats,” Dempster said in an early interview. “But the church retreats were only in Philadelphia, New Jersy and New York. Nothing here in the state of Delaware. So, I said, as a young man, if I’m able, I’m going to buy a piece of property to have a campground where my mother can have her church retreat in Delaware.”
Dempster faced many struggles and built the campground himself bit by bit. He could not get financing from banks, so he used his own money. Even after he opened the gates, he struggled as camping was not popular during that era among African Americans and, because it was deemed a “black” campground, whites would not reserve spaces. It was three years after opening that a white man from Milford booked a spot at the campground.
The Young’s were not big campers when they purchased the campground although they did own an RV. They found it funny that they owned a campground after only camping a handful of times. They do find that the attitude about camping among African Americans has changed and they see many black camper and RV groups, many of whom seek out black-owned campgrounds.
The campground was also a training ground for a Negro-league baseball team and the Young’s say they have conversations about the history of the campground quite often. However, not much of the history of the campground has been written and they hope to document more of it over time.
Today, the campground offers several cabins that sleep four, all with private bath and shower, a kitchenette, cable television and more. They rent daily for $150 or weekly for $975. Pets are permitted in the cabins for a fee but prior approval must be given. RV sites offer water and electric or water, electric and sewer. Prices range from $54 to $62 per day or $350 to $415 per week. Tent sites are primitive with no hookups and rent for $54 per day or $350 per week.
Amenities include a swimming pool, hammocks, volleyball court, game garden, basketball court and free wi-fi. The campground is gated and they do have security cameras. To make reservations or learn more, visit them online. The campground is located at 4075 Gun and Rod Club Road, Houston.
