Rich Cabins

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name = Rich Cabins


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chiefscouttitle = Director
chiefscout = Tim Collver (2007)
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Rich Cabins is a camp managed by the Boy Scouts of America's Philmont Scout Ranch, a backpacking reservation in northern New Mexico. Rich Cabins is located on a portion of the Vermejo Park Ranch, which is owned by Ted Turner. The Rich family lived at this location from the late 1880s to the 1920s.

Activities

The program here is homesteading and includes: historical first-person interpretive cabin tours, gardening, wood working (some years), catching chickens, milking cows, and various projects that the staff may be working on to improve the camp. There is also a commissary where trail food can be picked up and white gas can be purchased. As of 2007 Rich Cabins has an official evening music program where campers can hear traditional songs from regions that the Rich family would have traveled through from Austria.

History

The cabin was built by the Rich family beginning in 1880, when the eldest brother Joseph immigrated from the Tirol province of Austria. Eventually, all four Rich brothers (Joseph, John, David, and Louis) lived there. The family ran a successful cattle ranch which stretched down-canyon to where Ponil is located today. The family left abruptly in 1926, reportedly due to one of the brother's gambling debts. At that time, they sold their brand (a heart outline) to the Chase family. The Chases use the heart to this day. [Philmont Living History Manual on Rich]

1992 was the first year this was a staff camp. The first Camp Director had been begging Philmont for some long boards to make a large table to put in the huge dining room. There used to be a bridge over the Middle Ponil along the road way up canyon by the 4WD road to Iris Park. One day there was a huge storm, and the staff noticed parts this bridge were floating down the stream. Next thing you know, the staff is out grabbing the pieces that included about 15 foot long boards. Using their woodworking knowledge, the staff turned this into the long table that is still in the dining room. The white fixtures in the kitchen were also built by the 1992 staff. The largest bed in the back bedroom was built by the staff in 1999. Two of the beds in this back bedroom were built by the 2003 staff. One of the beds in the front bedroom was built by the staff in 2001. The other bed in the front bedroom was built by the 2003 staff. The 2003 staff proceeded to built 3 porch swings for the biggest porch used by Philmont.

Rich Cabins was part of the area that burned during the Ponil Complex Fire of 2002. A combination of back-burning and defensible space cutting by the Philmont and Cimarron Volunteer Fire Departments saved the cabin, barn, and toolshed. The chicken coop and one latrine were lost in the fire, but have since been rebuilt.

See also

*List of Philmont camps

References

Type: Staff Camp
Map Section: Northeast and Northwest (2006 maps), North (2007 double-sided map)
Elevation: 7,793 ft
Water Source: Spigot behind cabin, spigot in springhouse, cistern in springhouse, Middle Ponil Creek
Facilities: Commissary
Program: Homesteading

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Camp Directors Through the Years at Rich Cabins
2007 - Tim Collver
2006 - Ashley Pagnotta
2005 – Randa (Bracy) Celley
2004 – Jackie Clark (now Jackie Zensen)
2003 – Jen Cummings
2002 -
2001 – John Gordon
2000 – Nate "Cheddar" Lay
1999 – Rock Rohrbacher
1998 – Deirdre Laughland
1997 -
1996 – Sara Toney