christian ranch type 501 c 3 non profit founded stewartville mn 1976 founder bob bardwell headquarters stewartville minnesota key people bob bardwell founder clay ruggles chairman gary froiland secretary eleanor crane rusty fiek roger hagen randy swanson website ironwoodsprings.com ironwood springs christian ranch iscr is a christian camp in southern minnesota serving over 22 000 people per year . founded by bob bardwell iscr s express purpose is to provide an atmosphere and opportunity for adults and children to get to know themselves others and god better . ironwood springs has been a non profit organization since 1976 . the camp gets its name from the hundreds of ironwood trees on the land and the boiling springs along the root river . history edit since 1969 bob bardwell wheelchair marathon racer and author had a dream to start or work at a christian camp when he worked at horn creek ranch in westcliffe colorado . god used bob s experiences at this camp to show him the spiritual social and emotional impact a christian camp can have on a child for lifetime . after leaving horn creek ranch it was bardwell s goal to start a christian camp of his own . in 1973 bardwell finished seminary and got married . that same year he was paralyzed from the waist down in a heavy construction accident . this event led to a series of changes that allowed bob to see the lord s purpose and plan for his life . by 1976 land that bob s father lester bardwell had purchased was transformed into the start of a non profit non denominational independent christian camp . bob s dream was realized . 1 the first thing to be built was the driveway . the trails were the next thing to be developed . the current staff house was the first building built and served as the lodge with bunks and a kitchen . 1978 the main lodge was built up the hill . 1980 to 1984 the swimming pool tennis courts and the solid oaks stables were built . 1990 the log dining hall that is attached to the main lodge was built . 1990 to 1997 seven cabins were built . 1991 the recreation center was built . 1995 80 acres 320 000 m2 across the river to the north were purchased . 1996 to 2000 building of the chapel with logs from whitewater state park . 1997 two bridges were donated . 2001 the main office building was opened . 2002 to 2005 castner riding arena . 2007 the opening of the miracle lodge a 3 story 27 room lodge designed to be 100 % wheelchair accessible . related links edit ironwood springs christian ranch website miracle lodge references edit http www.ironwoodsprings.com aboutironwood.aspx about ironwood springs webpage 43 50 43 n 92 35 11 w 43.845345 n 92.586465 w 43.845345 ; 92.586465 coordinates 43 50 43 n 92 35 11 w 43.845345 n 92.586465 w 43.845345 ; 92.586465 v t e summer camps in the u.s. state of minnesota camps inspiration point bible camp clitherall camp onomia onamia camp quest navarre camp shamineau motley camp widjiwagan ely ymca camp menogyn grand marais ymca camp warren eveleth boy scout camps camp chanowapi camp wabaunaquat retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title ironwood springs christian ranch & oldid 597177349 categories christian summer campssummer camps in minnesotabuildings and structures in olmsted county minnesotahidden categories pages using infobox company with unsupported parameterscoordinates not on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 26 february 2014 at 04 29 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view