- Blue Water Council
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See also: Scouting in Michigan#Blue Water Council
Blue Water Council 
Owner Boy Scouts of America Headquarters Port Huron, Michigan Location St. Clair & Sanilac Counties, Michigan Country United States Founded 1919 Scout Executive Paul Schwartz Website
http://www.bwcbsa.org/Blue Water Council #277 [1] is a Boy Scouts of America Council based out of Port Huron, Michigan. The Council was Established in 1919 to serve scouts in the Port Huron Area, and was officially granted permission in 1928 to serve scouts in the St. Clair and Sanilac County area.
Blue Water Council is the smallest council in the State of Michigan, and is one of, if not the smallest in the nation. Yet, the small council is considered the most stable in Michigan, both membership and fiscally. [1] The original council camp was located along North River Road in Clyde Township, Michigan. The Council also operated Camp Loyalty for a short time in the 1930s, which was located south of Lexington, Michigan. In 1942, the family of Crowswell Businessman Philip Graham donated property along the Black River in Sanilac County to Blue Water Council. The property was known "Camp Chickagami", named after the Council's Order of the Arrow lodge that was established just one year earlier. Camp Chickagami was located 2 miles north of Croswell, Michigan, and is now a county park by the name of "P.L. Graham Memorial Park". In 1948, the council's camp moved downriver to the current Silver Trails Scout Reservation in Jeddo, Michigan.
Blue Water Council serves scouts in the far eastern portion of Michigan.
Contents
Silver Trails
Silver Trails Scout Reservation [2] is located near Jeddo, Michigan, south of Croswell, and about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of Port Huron. The Boy Scout Camp is settled along the banks of the Black River and the Silver Creek. Silver Trails has 285 acres (1.2 km2) that can be explored and hiked. There are five all year cabins and three Adirondacks (3 sided structures). Silver Trails has a total of 14 campsites; some are not open all year long, and some are more remote than others, there are also 3 adirondacks(three sided-lean toos). Most of the council's money comes from renting land on the camp property to a gravel mining company. This quarry is running out of stone, and an artificial lake is proposed to be built out of the empty pit. The lake is planned to be built by 2012.
Annual events at Silver Trails include a spring and fall camporee for Boy Scouts; "mom and me", and "dad and lad" for Cub Scouts, and a spring and fall conclave for the Order of the Arrow. Silver Trails has been host to both the 2005 and 2011 Section C-2A Conclaves of the Order of the Arrow.
Districts
- Three Rivers (St. Clair County South of Port Huron) Troops in the 200's
- Black River Basin (Northern St. Clair & Sanilac County Area) Troops in the 100's and 300's
Chickagami Lodge 180
Blue Water Council's Chickagami Lodge 180Chickagami Lodge #180 of the Order of the Arrow has faithfully served the Blue Water Council since 1941. The Lodge has no chapters and hosts bi-annual conclaves at Silver Trails Scout Reservation. The lodge is a member of Section C-2A and meets annually for the Section Conclave.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Chickagami Lodge was home to one of the nation's best ceremonial dance teams. The Chickagami team competed across the nation for Order of the Arrow competitions.[2]
The lodge's totem is the Standing Brave, and a Chicken is the "unofficial mascot" of Chickagami Lodge. Total membership is 168 members. Chickagami Lodge is the second smallest lodge in the nation, and has the lowest dues in the Central Region due to its trading post located at Silver Trails Scout Reservation. It is the only lodge in the nation that operates its own store. Chickagami Lodge has earned Quality Lodge in 2007, 2008, and 2010.[3]
Notes
Categories:- Local councils of the Boy Scouts of America
- St. Clair County, Michigan
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