The Association saw the need for an assembly ground for fellowship and worship for the congregations. In April of 1904, the Association purchased a fifteen-acre tree farm, in what is now known as Geistown, from the Blough Family. Land was cleared and construction began on the Tabernacle, dormitory, and cottages. In 1904 the first service was held. The Camp was named Arbutus Park Campground because of the abundant Arbutus flowers that graced the land. The flower is now extinct on the property.

Throughout the decades, the Missionary Institute of the Pittsburgh Conference Branch, the Association, and the Summer School of Religious Education intensively used the grounds for fellowship, education, and worship.

In 1951, the United Evangelical Church merged with the Brethren Church to form the Evangelical United Brethren Church. Many changes occurred at the Camp under the new formation, including tearing down the cottages, which lead to a significant reduction in revenue. Unfortunately in 1961, a heavy snowstorm destroyed the Tabernacle.

For 56 years, religious services conducted at the Camp affected the lives of thousands of people in attendance. Today, many of our residents speak fondly of their Camp days at Arbutus. Attending services with their parents, playing games, enjoying free ice cream cones, singing and meeting new people are part of the Camp's memories etched into the memories of our residents.

Establishing a home for the elderly was conceived in the early ‘60s. By 1967 Arbutus Park Retirement Community was born. The Manor building (funded through separate efforts by the Evangelical United Brethren and Methodist churches) opened in 1973 accommodating 78 residents. The founders of Arbutus Manor wanted a community to “emphasize the quality of life as well as the quantity of life to enable the person to live in dignity and to remember their years with respect and esteem, to provide the person with physical, social and spiritual support where they may live in a protected environment free and safe from hazards to permit and encourage the person to grow, to make their last days as comfortable as possible and to permit the individual to exit gracefully.”

In 1969 another merger occurred with the Evangelical United Brethren and the Methodist churches to form the United Methodist Church.

Today, Arbutus has grown to 22 acres. Throughout the last decades of the twentieth century, the Manor building had several major additions:
• East Wing, Chapel, and Community Room opened in 1978 funded through a campaign.
• Dedicated in 1984, the Doerr Wing was funded through a bequest from Gertrude B. Doerr.
• Crossroads (Alzheimer’s Unit) was dedicated in 1993.
• Personal Care opened in 1996.
• Manor addition and renovation completed in October 2007.