Scouting in Ohio

Recent history (1950–1990)

In 1952 and again in 1975 the National Order of the Arrow Conference was held at Miami University.

Present Day (2016-)

In 2016, an effort was started to consolidate councils in Northeast Ohio as of January 1, 2017. Heart of Ohio and Greater Western Reserve Councils' northern districts merged with Greater Cleveland Council. Heart of Ohio's southern districts have merged with Buckeye Council. Greater Western Reserve Councils southern districts have merged with Great Trail Council.

Order of the Arrow Lodge mergers will be completed following the Section C-4A conclave in May at Camp Manatoc

Boy Scouts of America in Ohio today

In the 1990s, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) went through a restructuring in an attempt to reduce manpower, and in several states small historic Councils were merged into a larger supercouncil. The Simon Kenton Council is an example of such a supercouncil.

There are sixteen Boy Scouts of America local councils in Ohio.

Allohak Council

Allohak Council (#818) was founded in 1991. It is composed of six districts and serves West Virginia and Ohio. The council headquarters is in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Black Swamp Area Council

Black Swamp Area Council was created in 1992. It is composed of six districts and covers thirteen counties in Ohio. The council headquarters is in Findlay, Ohio with an additional service center in Lima, Ohio.

Organization

Camps

Order of the Arrow

Buckeye Council

Buckeye Council (#436) serves Ohio and parts of northern West Virginia.

Dan Beard Council was created in 1956. It is composed of eight districts and serves Scouts in twelve counties in southern Ohio and northern Kentucky. The council is served by the Ku-Ni-Eh Lodge of the Order of the Arrow.

History

The Middletown Area Council (#454)was first formed as a provisional (second class) council in 1917. In 1920 it was granted full council status. It initially served the city of Middletown. In 1928, the territory of the Middletown Area Council was expanded to include all of Warren County as well as Lemon, Liberty, Madison and Union Townships from Butler County. In 1926, the land for Camp Hook was donated to the council. The camp opened in 1927 and operated until 1991. In 1932 Union Township was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Butler County Council (later known as Fort Hamilton Council). In 1933 the Middletown Area Council was renamed to the Mound Builders Area Council. In 1955, jurisdiction of Lemon Township was transferred to Fort Hamilton Council, forming the final boundaries of the Mound Builders Area Council. Mound Builders Area Council continued to serve Middletown and the Lemon & Madison Townships of Butler County as well as all of Warren County until July 1, 1985 when it was absorbed into Dan Beard Council #438 and became the Mound Builders District. The current Hopewell District of Dan Beard Council, formed during the 2006 redistricting process when Middletown and Lemon Township (including Monroe Ohio) were recombined, very closely resembling the lines of the old Mound Builders Area Council territory.

Mound Builders Area Council primarily had only two districts, Fort Ancient and Pokey Griffith. A third district, Wischixin, was formed briefly but lasted for less than 5 years before being discontinued.

The Nachenum Lodge #145 of the Order of the Arrow served Mound Builders Area Council, forming in 1939. Upon the merger with Dan Beard Council in 1985, the Ku-Ni-Eh Lodge #462 merged with Nachenum, forming Ku-Ni-Eh Lodge #145 (keeping the existing Dan Beard Council name but choosing to use the lower lodge # of the former Nachenum Lodge).

An interesting note is that Mound Builders Area Council, while no longer an actual council, was represented at the 1985 National Jamboree. The troop contingent from Mound Builders Council attended the jamboree, held beginning July 15, while the council itself ceased to exist on July 1. The contingent was technically now part of Dan Beard Council, though all patches and markings, etc. were already set to the old Mound Builders Area Council and were not altered to note Dan Beard Council.

Organization

Camps

Camp Michaels is located in Union, KY, on 700 acres (2.8 km²) of land, offering primitive outdoor facilities. 61 acres (0.25 km²) of additional land was dedicated on September 19, 2008.

The Dan Beard Scout Reservation, in Loveland, OH, consists of three areas on its 506-acre (2.05 km²) campus. Camp Friedlander was established in 1919, and reopened in 2002 after renovations to the camp. Friedlander has 23 campsites, a 600-person dining hall, an 18-acre (73,000 m²) lake, cabins, and a swimming pool. It has an excellent reputation and attracts Scouts from all over the world. Camp Craig is often used as a training facility. The Program Building at Camp Craig is often rented out for retreats, conferences or training. The swimming pool at Camp Craig is shared with Cub World. Cub Scout Adventure World (Cub World) opened in 2000 as a camp designed exclusively for Cub Scouting. Cub World features two large buildings that offer dorm-like accommodations (Pioneer Fort and Medieval Castle) that offer rooms with bunk-beds, and more primitive areas (Mountain Man Village and Miner's Camp) that offer tent camping. All three camps have access to each other on the Reservation, which is adjacent to the Little Miami River.

Camp Charles R. Hook, founded in 1926, was in operation until 1991. In 1997, the land was purchased by the Five Rivers Metroparks and is now called the Twin Creek Metropark. The land for Camp Hook was donated by the Charles R. Hook family. Charles Hook was the President of the American Rolling Mill Company (ARMCO) - which in the early 1990s merged to become AK Steel Corporation - and son-in-law of the company's founder, George M. Verity. In early 1929 Mr. Hook donated a significant amount of stock to the Middletown Area Council with the instructions to immediately sell it and use the proceeds to put in a swimming pool at the camp. The timing on this event was advantageous considering early in the fall of 1929 was the crash of the stock market known as Black Friday and the beginning of the Great Depression. The sale of the stock yielded enough money to put in the swimming pool and purchase more land to the north, expanding the camp's size significantly. The waterfront of the camp was later named Lake George after Charles Hook's son, George Verity Hook. After the camp's closure and sale to the Metroparks system, the majority of the structures were torn down and the swimming pool filled in. Most of the campsites have grown over as well, but many landmarks or signs of the former use of the area remain. The Metroparks system maintains three group campsites for Scout use, and a backcountry camping area was added on the north side of the property near Chamberlain Road. A large rock with embedded plaque thanking the Hooks for the donation remains, as does the amphitheatre campfire bowl, the Administration Lodge, the Maintenance Building, the Chapel (now called the Natuary) and a few other structures that are in ruins. The pool pump house and the shelters for the shooting ranges still remain, though it is believed this is due only because the demolition equipment could not safely reach these structures. The park previously held three geocache units that contain historical pictures of the old camp, but as of fall 2013 they have been removed. One point of interest that remains is the Gilwell Tree. A local Scouting family in the 1970s took a vacation to England with his family, during which they visited Gilwell Park, the home of the Scouting movement. A sapling of one of the English Oaks was brought back from Gilwell Park and planted at Camp Hook to signify the ties between Scouting in the US and the worldwide movement. In 2010 a plaque, and a split rail fence were created to honor the tree and one of the leading, and oldest, scout leaders in the Council. It was an Eagle Scout Service Project.

Trails

The Riverwalk Trail spans downtown Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky (Covington and Newport), and is 5 miles (8.0 km) long. Highlights along the trail include the boyhood home of Dan Beard. There is a patch available from the Council for walking the trail. The Trail Guide for the Dan Beard Riverwalk Trail can be found on the Dan Beard Council website.

The Silver Moccasin Trail originally started in Lebanon and finished at Fort Ancient. It was 14 miles (23 km) long and used to offer a medal and a patch. A portion of the trail was reconstructed from Fort Ancient south to Morgan's Riverside Campground off of Mason-Morrow-Millgrove Rd, then crossing the Little Miami River to join the Little Miami Scenic Trail to complete the loop. This restored loop is 5.1 miles (8.2 km) long.

The Thunderbird Trail existed as a 6-mile (9.7-km) long loop around Camp Hook. It was in use for many years during the camp's time as a part of Mound Builders Area Council and Dan Beard Council. Scouts could earn a patch upon completing the entire trail. After the sale of the camp to the Five Rivers MetroParks system in 1997, the Thunderbird trail stopped being maintained and now no longer exists except to those who remember exactly where it was, although the trail markers and Order of the Arrow (OA) fire-rings are still visible and somewhat accessible.

Order of the Arrow

Buckskin Council

Buckskin Council serves Scouts in Scouts in Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia. It is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.

Erie Shores Council

Erie Shores Council (#460) was created in 1929. It provides Scouting programs to the youth of Northwest Ohio in Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Wood and eastern Fulton Counties.

Organization

Camps

Order of the Arrow

French Creek Council

French Creek Council (#532) serves Scouts in Pennsylvania and Ohio. It has its headquarters in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Great Trail Council

Great Trail Council (#433) was created in 1971. It is composed of six districts and serves Summit, Portage, Medina and Northern Wayne Counties.

Organization

Camps

The council operates the Manatoc Scout Reservation, containing Camp Manatoc and Camp Butler. The council summer camp program is housed at Camp Manatoc. The council also inherited Camp Stambaugh in Canfield with the consolidation of Greater Western Reserve Council. Sambaugh will host Cub Scout events along with a scout shop.

Order of the Arrow

Great Trail Council is served by the Marnoc OA Lodge.

Greater Cleveland Council

Greater Cleveland Council (#440) was created in 1929. It is composed of three districts and serves northeastern Ohio. The council headquarters is in Cleveland, Ohio.

Organization

Camps

Beaumont Scout Reservation is a full-service Scout Reservation with forests, fields, wetlands and lakes, sitting on 1,260 acres along the Grand River in Rock Creek, Ohio, approximately 40 miles east from downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It began operating as a camp in 1946 and has grown into a year-round facility with camping for Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and families.

Tinnerman Wilderness Canoe Base, more commonly known as Tinnerman Canoe Base, is a "high-adventure base" located on the banks of the French River, in Ontario. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the French River area was a major trade route used to exchange furs trapped in the West with various goods made in the East and in Europe. Tinnerman is nicknamed the "Land of the Joli Voyageur". The land that the Tinnerman base is located on was owned by Albert H. Tinnerman, inventor of the speed nut. After Mr. Tinnerman's passing in 1961, his grandson Bill Buttriss of Cleveland Ohio tried to obtain a commercial license for the camp. The Ontario government said that any one area would support only so many camps and they felt the lower French had enough camps at that time. Though appealed, a license was not possible for the camp. It was at this time the family decided to donate the camp to the Cleveland Area Scout Council. Two weeks after the formal donation, Mr. Buttriss received a letter from the Ontario government stating that since one of the camps in the area had closed its doors (Rainbow Lodge on Bass Creek), the license would now be available.

From 1963 to 2011, the base was owned and operated by the Greater Cleveland Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In 2011, citing a lack of attendance and other factors, the Greater Cleveland Council permanently closed Tinnerman Canoe Base and put it up for sale. Distraught Tinnerman alumni created a detailed proposal for a non-profit Tinnerman Foundation, to keep the camp operating as a canoe base for youthful explorers. On February 21, 2012 the Greater Cleveland Council announced that "the executive board of Greater Cleveland Council, Boy Scouts of America voted to unanimously accept a cash offer of $415,000 for the 10 acre property on the French River in Ontario, Canada that was the Tinnerman Wilderness Canoe Base. The purchase offer has no contingencies and is expected to be completed in early May 2012."

Order of the Arrow

Greater Western Reserve Council

Greater Western Reserve Council (#463) was created in 1993. It is composed of four districts.

History

As of 2016, a vote was cast that GWRC would merge with 2 different councils. Grand River District and Headwaters will merge with Greater Cleveland Council, Effective January 2017. Arrowhead and Whispering Pines Districts will merge with Great Trail Council in Akron. Camp Stambaugh will become a Great Trail Council Camp and Camp Stigwandish will go to Greater Cleveland Council. Heart of Ohio will also be merging with Greater Cleveland and Buckeye Council.

Camps

History

The Council is served by Wapashuwi Lodge 56. CLOSED as of January 2017

Heart of Ohio Council

Heart of Ohio Council (#450) was created in 1994. It is composed of four districts. Geographically, the Heart of Ohio Council serves the youth of Ashland, Crawford, Erie, Huron, Lorain, Marion, Morrow, Richland, and Wyandot Counties in North Central Ohio.

History

Officially organized into its present form in 1994 with the merger of the Harding Area, the Johnny Appleseed Area and the Firelands Area Councils, the Heart of Ohio Council is one of the largest geographic councils within the state of Ohio.

Organization

Camps

The Heart of Ohio Council operates one reservation known as Firelands Scout Reservation. It is located 5 miles west of Oberlin, in Wakeman, on 455 acres of land. The reservation holds two camps, Camp Avery Hand (the Cub Scout camp) and Camp Wyandot (the Boy Scout camp). Each individual camp is named for former camps once a part of the original councils that merged to form the Heart of Ohio Council.

The reservation is about 70% wooded. There is a 23-acre lake with an island connected by a peninsula on Camp Wyandot. The camp has operated as a Boy Scout camp since 1938. Cabin and tent camping are available.

Order of the Arrow

portage619.org

Miami Valley Council

Headquartered in Dayton, the Miami Valley Council (#444) serves Darke, Preble, Miami, Shelby and Montgomery counties in Ohio.

Muskingum Valley Council

Muskingum Valley Council (#467) was created in 1956. It is composed of three districts.

Organization

Camps

The Muskingum Valley Scout Reservation (MVSR) is the council's year-round camping facility. Located on over 500 acres (2.0 km²) of reclaimed land near Conesville in Coshocton county, MVSR has offered Scouts a wide variety of options to expand their camping experience since its opening in 1968.

Order of the Arrow

Ohio River Valley Council

Ohio River Valley Council (#619) serves Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, and Venturing, in West Virginia and Ohio.

Simon Kenton Council

Simon Kenton Council (#441) serves Scouts in central and southern Ohio and in northern Kentucky. The council headquarters is in Columbus, Ohio.

Tecumseh Council

Tecumseh Council (#439) was founded in 1923. It is composed of five districts and serves more than 4,700 youth in five counties in Ohio.

Organization

Camps

Camp Hugh Taylor Birch was founded in 1932 at only 25 acres (0.10 km²) acres, growing to 440 acres (1.8 km²) today. Camp Birch features a dining hall, an Olympic size swimming pool, and a 10 acres (0.040 km²) lake. Adjacent to Clifton Gorge, John Bryan State Park and Glen Helen Nature Preserve, Camp High Taylor Birch is a part of 2,000 acres (8.1 km²) of continuous natural woodlands.

Order of the Arrow

Girl Scouts of the USA in Ohio

There are five Girl Scout councils serving Ohio.

Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council

Serving girls in several eastern counties in Ohio, and headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.

Girl Scouts of Kentucky's Wilderness Road Council

Serving girls in Lawrence County, Ohio, and headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky.

Girl Scouts of North East Ohio

Girl Scouts of North East Ohio (GSNEO) serves nearly 30,000 girls and has 14,000 adult volunteers.

GSNEO was formed in 2007 by the merger of five different councils: Erie Shores, Great Trail, Lake Erie, Lake to River, and Western Reserve. Its history dates back to 1912 when the first known girl scout troop in the area was started

Service Centers:

The current council camps are Ledgewood established in 1931 with 350 acres (140 ha) and a 2 acres (0.81 ha) lake in Peninsula, Ohio within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park boundaries. 324 acres (131 ha) Timberlane in Wakeman, Ohio (within the Firelands Reserve) which was acquired in 1956. Sugarbush with nearly 200 acres (81 ha) at Kinsman, Ohio.

Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland Council

Girl Scouts of Ohio's Heartland Council serves over 29,000 girls in 33 counties in central, north-central, south-central, and southeastern Ohio.

This was formed by a merger of Girl Scouts - Seal of Ohio Council, Girl Scouts - Heart of Ohio, and Heritage Trails Girl Scout Council on January 1, 2009.

Council camps are Beckoning Trails in the Hocking hills with 108 acres (44 ha), Crooked Lane near Mt. Gilead, Ohio with 226 acres (91 ha), 240 acres (97 ha) Ken-Jockety along the Big Darby Creek in Franklin County, Molly Lauman near Lucasville, Ohio with 170 acres (69 ha), and Wakatomika in Licking County with 262 acres (106 ha). The Zanesville Service Center in Muskingum County also has 8 acres (3.2 ha) which can be used for camping. Camp Cornish in Knox County had been a Girl Scout camp but was sold and acquired by a local community foundation for use by non-profit groups; the local council has 35 guaranteed days a year at it.

Girl Scouts of Western Ohio

Girl Scouts of Western Ohio serves about 42,000 girls in Western Ohio and southeast Indiana.

This was formed by a merger of Girl Scouts of Appleseed Ridge, Girl Scouts of Buckeye Trails Council, Girl Scout Great Rivers Council, and Girl Scouts of Maumee Valley Council.

Service Centers:

Camps are Butterworth, Libbey, Rolling Hill, Stoney Brook, Whip Poor Will, and Woodhaven. Camp Libbey (named after Edward Drummond Libbey who left $25,000 to the Girl Scouts for a campsite in 1925) with nearly 350 acres (140 ha) on the banks of the Maumee River near Defiance, Ohio was established in 1936.

Scouting museums in Ohio

International Scouting units in Ohio