Scouting in Mississippi

Early history (1910-1950)

In 1909, Dr. Cran, the Local Episcopal Minister, and Mr. C.H. Hamilton organized Troop 19 in Brookhaven, Mississippi. In 1910, the unit was officially recognized by the local scout office in Vicksburg. Troop 19 became Troop 119 after the Andrew Jackson Council was formed. It was sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church until 1938/39 when it was then sponsored by "The Men's Bible Class" First United Methodist church where it has remained. The Troop has been continuously chartered since 1910 and is as old as the incorporated Boy Scouts of America.

In 1912, one year after the Boy Scout movement came from England to the United States, George F. Maynard, Sr. founded the first troop in Tupelo — Troop 1. Scout units were soon founded in other cities such as Corinth and Oxford.

Scouting in Mississippi today

There are eight Boy Scouts of America local councils in Mississippi.

Andrew Jackson Council

Andrew Jackson Council serves Scouts in the area surrounding the state capital.

Organization

Camps

Order of the Arrow

Chickasaw Council

Chickasaw Council serves Scouts in Tennessee and Arkansas, as well as Mississippi. The Delta Area Council of west Mississippi and their Koi Hatachie lodge 345, Order of the Arrow, merged into Chickasaw Council in the early 1990s.

Choctaw Area Council

Choctaw Area Council serves youth in east Mississippi and west Alabama, with the council office located in Meridian, Mississippi. The Choctaw Area Council camp is Camp Binachi, and the council's name refers to the Choctaw nation.

OA lodge: Ashwanchi Kinta Lodge

Istrouma Area Council

Istrouma Area Council serves Scouts in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Pine Burr Area Council

Pine Burr Area Council serves youth in 17 counties in southeast and southern Mississippi, from headquarters in Hattiesburg.

Scoutreach Division

Pushmataha Area Council

Pushmataha Area Council serves Calhoun, Chickasaw, Monroe, Webster, Oktibbeha, Clay, Lowndes, Winston, Choctaw and Noxubee counties in north Mississippi. Camp Seminole is the Pushmataha Area Council camp.

Southeast Louisiana Council

The Southeast Louisiana Council serves Scouting in Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemine, Saint John the Baptist, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint James, Saint Tammany, and Terrebonne Parishes in Louisiana. The 1,200 acres (4.9 km²) camp property known as Salmen Scout Reservation is located in Kiln, Mississippi.

Yocona Area Council

The Yocona Area Council of northeast Mississippi is headquartered in Tupelo. It serves Alcorn, Tishomingo, Prentiss, Itawamba, Lee, Pontotoc, Tippah, Union, Benton, Marshall, Lafayette, and Yalobusha counties. The Chicksa Lodge serves local Arrowmen.

Girl Scouting in Mississippi

There are two Girl Scout councils in Mississippi.

Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi

Girl Scouts of Greater Mississippi serves some 10,000 members in 45 counties of south and central Mississippi.

It was formed by the merger of Girl Scouts of Gulf Pines Council and Girl Scout Council of Middle Mississippi in 2009.

Headquarters: Jackson, Mississippi
Website: http://gsgms.org/

Service centers:

Camps:

Girl Scouts Heart of the South

See Scouting in Tennessee for full information. In Mississippi serves girls in northern counties.

Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee
Website: http://www.girlscoutshs.org

Mississippi service centers:

Mississippi camps