Camp Merrimac

Camp Merrimac was a mostly Jewish boys and later coed camp located in Contoocook, New Hampshire in the United States.

In 1919, the patriarchs of the Clough family, Joseph and Sylvia Clough, died. That year the property known as "Cloughville" -- it had been a small town in the 19th century—was sold to Mr. Price and Mr. Pick of New York, who established a summer camp for Jewish boys on the site. "Cloughville" was changed to "Camp Merrimac", and the first campers arrived at the property in 1921. The camp was in a scenic location at the end of a dirt road on a lake officially known as Clement Pond, but known to generations of Merrimac campers as Lake Josylvia. Several of the old Cloughville buildings survived the transition—the town post office became the camp office. The ice house (built without the use of steel nails) was the head counselor's shack. The town hall housed the mature staff, and a 19th-century barn lasted until it fell down one winter about 1960.

Mr. Price and Mr. Pick ran Camp Merrimac until the late 1940s when it was purchased by Abe Beleson, a teacher at the Bronx High School of Science. In 1953, Maury Bleifeld became a part owner, and in 1954, Harry Levine bought a share of the camp. In 1957, Werner Rothschild, Robert "Bob" Bomze, and Fred Egre purchased the property.

In 1958, Egre was bought out, and Rothchild and Bomze continued operating the camp. Keeping the name Camp Merrimac, they continued to run a general summer camp program. One innovation they introduced in the 1960s was to have counselors from England, Sweden, and other European countries. In addition, being physical education teachers, they began the New England Hockey Camp and New England Figure Skating Camp. Youth would travel by bus to Concord, New Hampshire to the Everett Arena for ice time.

Both boys and girls attended the camp from after World War II until 1998. The majority of campers came from the New York metropolitan area at first. From the late 1980s until the end campers came from all over the US, and Canada, Mexico and Europe. It was a rather international place.

Nearing retirement, and perhaps a bit exhausted after 40+ summers at camp, Mr. Rothschild and Mr. Martin (as Bomze was then known) were ready to sell. They wanted the property to remain a youth facility. They were searching for a buyer who would continue youth programs. In 1998, the camp was sold to the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Boston, Massachusetts.