An expose on Lebanon's 'adult' campground: Quiet, peaceful and fully clothed

Tom and Barbara Potter; below, one of the campsites overlooking the pond. (Harrison Thorp photos)

LEBANON - The first thing Barbara Potter wants folks to know is, “We’re not a nudist camp,” she says dryly.
It may not be a place one could go au natural, but Potter’s Place Adult Campground is a place where one can appreciate its natural beauty, from its pristine seven-acre-pond full of native trout, to its gardens to its spacious fields and arboretum, and enjoy it in peace and quiet.

The word “Adult” sometimes throws people, says owner Tom Potter, but it’s really all about the quietude his customers have come to enjoy and expect at the campground.
He said he gets a lot of retirees and a lot of schoolteachers looking for a well-deserved break from youngsters.

He said while they allow anyone 21 or over to stay at the campground and have had young honeymooners there over the years, the average age of most residents is probably around 70.
The majority of Potter’s Place residents are local snowbirds who buy yearround homes in Florida then return every summer to escape the southern heat and humidity.

Homes in Florida are cheap compared to around here, so it’s a popular option. It costs a little more than $2,000 to rent a space for the summer at Potter’s Place, and that includes electricity and water.

Some, however, have yearround homes closer. One camper lives in a mansion near Nubble Light, but leaves for Potter’s Place every summer because he can’t stand the York traffic.

Potter’s Place has to be one of the oldest businesses in Lebanon. Tom and Barbara moved up from Massachusetts in 1958. He’s from Allston-Brighton, she’s from Arlington. They met at Tufts and later married. We’re still considered outsiders, Barbara Potter giggles.

Tom Potter is a former Lebanon selectman, having served in the 1970s and late 1980s. Barbara Potter is a former Lebanon treasurer.

Back in the 1950s they moved to Lebanon and opened a dairy farm on Baker’s Grant Road, then broke ground on Potter’s Place in 1964. It opened in ’67.

The two have been running and working on the campground ever since.

Today it comprises about 165 acres, including more than 100 acres of tree farm, a large pond and about 100 RV campsites. The sites seem larger than those often seen at campgrounds, and

Tom Potter says he designed them that way. The campground also has large tracts of common ground, including about 50 acres that require mowing, and a heated swimming pool.

They recently replaced all the siding on the campground buildings and upgraded the plumbing.
On this day Tom Potter was out on a backhoe working on his property.

“I like making improvements to the place,” Tom Potter says. “We’re hoping it will stay in the family.”

It is, indeed, a family enterprise. Besides Tom and Barbara, there’s their son, Tom, their daughter Carol Carlin, and her husband, Bill, and their son, Tom, who all share in the workload.

While Tom Potter was on his backhoe this day, Barbara was nearby, sweeping the steps of one of the common buildings. She said keeping the campground means a lot of work, but it’s all worth it.

“I love the country,” she said.