Scouting in Virginia

Scouting in Virginia has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. Many of the local groups and districts took names of historic Virginia Indian tribes in the state.

Boy Scouts of America

Early history (1910-1950)

Until 1948, most southern councils of the Boy Scouts of America were racially segregated, as the southern states had legal segregation of public facilities.^{[citation needed]} Colored troops, as they were officially known, were given little financial support from districts and councils. The National Council began a program of integrating local councils in 1940, a process which lasted until 1974.^{[citation needed]}

Recent history (1950-1990)

Today

Since the 1981 National Scout Jamboree, all Jamborees have been held at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.

There are ten Boy Scouts of America local councils in Virginia. Loudoun, Fairfax, Stafford, Prince William, King George, Westmoreland and Northumberland counties are part of the Northeast Region. Most of Virginia is within Southern Region. Tazewell, Bland and Giles counties are included in the Central Region.

Blue Ridge Mountains Council

Main article: Blue Ridge Mountains Council

The Blue Ridge Mountains Council (BRMC) serves Scouts in southwest and south central Virginia.

Buckskin Council

Main article: Scouting in West Virginia

Buckskin Council serves Scouts in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Giles, Bland and Tazewell Counties in Virginia.

Colonial Virginia Council

Served by the Wahunsenakah Lodge of the Order of the Arrow.

• Chesapeake Bay District
• Colonial Trail District
• First Colony District
• Heritage District
• James River District
• Siouan District (named after the language spoken by historic Virginia Indian tribes in the Piedmont)

Del-Mar-Va Council

Main article: Scouting in Delaware

Del-Mar-Va Council serves Scouts in Delaware, Maryland and Northampton and Accomack Counties in Virginia.

Heart of Virginia Council

Formerly Robert E. Lee Council, this council was renamed in 2003.

• Arrohattoc District (formerly the southern half of Shawondasee District)
• Battlefield District
• Capitol District
• Cardinal District
• Crater District
• Huguenot Trail District (formerly the northern half of Shawondasee District, named after French immigrants of 1700)
• Meherrin District, named after historic tribe
• Northern Neck District
• Rappahannock District, named after tribe and river
• Weyanoke District, named after historic tribe

National Capital Area Council

Main article: National Capital Area Council

The National Capital Area Council (NCAC) serves Scouts in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Loudon, Fairfax, Prince William, Fauquier, Stafford, King George, Caroline, Spotsylvania and Culpeper Counties in Virginia. NCAC operates two council camps: Goshen Scout Reservation, in Goshen, Virginia (physically within the Stonewall Jackson Area Council) and Camp Snyder in Haymarket, Virginia.

Sequoyah Council

Main article: Scouting in Tennessee

Sequoyah Council serves Scouts in Tennessee and Virginia.

Shenandoah Area Council

Shenandoah Area Council headquarters is in Winchester, Virginia and serves Scouts in Clarke, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, and Warren counties in Virginia and Berkeley, Morgan and Jefferson Counties in West Virginia. http://www.sac-bsa.org/

Camp Rock Enon was established in 1944, and is located at Rock Enon Springs near Gore, Virginia. The Order of the Arrow is represented by the Shenshawpotoo Lodge.

Camp

• Camp Rock Enon

Districts

• Mannahoac District: (named after the historic Manahoac tribe) Clarke County in Virginia and Jefferson County in West Virginia
• Potomac District: serves Berkeley and Morgan counties, West Virginia
• Shawnee District: (named after the historic tribe) serves the Winchester and Frederick County in Virginia and Capon Bridge and Paw Paw in West Virginia
• Shenrapawa District: serves Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, and Warren counties in Virginia

Order of the Arrow

• Shenshawopotoo Lodge #276, established in 1944. Shenshawpotoo is a composite word, made up of the first syllables of the Council name, and the three districts in the council at the time the lodge was formed - Shawnee, Potomac, and Two Rivers.^[1]

Stonewall Jackson Area Council

Main article: Stonewall Jackson Area Council

Tidewater Council

Main article: Tidewater Council

Tidewater Council is the local council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) that serves southeastern Virginia and north-eastern North Carolina. This region is often referred to as South Hampton Roads or the Tidewater or Tidewater Virginia area; hence the name of the council. One of the first councils in the country, Tidewater Council was established in 1911, just one year after William Boyce of Chicago founded scouting in the United States. It was only three years after Sir Robert Baden-Powell founded the movement in England. In 1914 the local council was issued a second-class charter, as it did not have a professional scout executive.

Its Order of the Arrow counterpart is the Blue Heron Lodge, which was founded in 1946 when a team from Octoraro Lodge in Pennsylvania inducted the first members of Blue Heron Lodge.

Girl Scouts of the USA

There are seven Girl Scout councils serving girls in Virginia; three are headquartered in the state.

Girl Scouts of The Appalachian Council

See Scouting in Tennessee. Serves Virginia girls in the extreme southwest of Virginia.

Headquarters; Johnson City, Tennessee
Website: http://www.girlscoutsappalachian.org

Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council

See Scouting in West Virginia. Serves Virginia girls in Bland, Buchanan, and Tazewell counties.

Headquarters: Charleston, West Virginia
Website: http://www.bdgsc.org

Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay Council

See Scouting in Delaware. Serves Virginia girls on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Headquarters: Newark, Delaware
Website: http://www.cbgsc.org

Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast

Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast serves over 16,500 girls, with 5,500 adult volunteers in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. It was established in 1981.

Headquarters: Chesapeake, Virginia
Website: http://www.gsccc.org

Camps:

• Camp Darden is almost 100 acres (0.40 km²) near Franklin, Virginia. It was acquired in 1961 and named after Colgate Darden and his wife.[1]
• Camp Skimino is a 90-acre (360,000 m²) camp near Williamsburg, Virginia.
• Camp Apasus is located in Norfolk, Virginia.
• Camp Burke's Mill Pond is a 30.06-acre (121,600 m²) camp located in Gloucester County, Virginia. It was donated to the Heritage Girl Scout Council in 1975, along with an additional 6.23-acre (25,200 m²) tract which contains the original mill house. Heritage Girl Scout Council and Tidewater Girl Scout Council merged to become the Girl Scout Council of the Colonial Coast.

Girl Scout Commonwealth Council of Virginia

The Girl Scout Commonwealth Council of Virginia serves more than 16,000 girls and has about 5,700 adult volunteers in 30 central Virginia counties. It was chartered in 1963, when three smaller councils serving Fredericksburg, Richmond, and Southside Virginia merged. In 2007, Surry County was moved from this council to Colonial Coast. The first troop formed in central Virginia was Troop #1, Highland Springs in 1913.[2][3]

In 1932 the first African-American troop in the South, Girl Scout Troop 101, was founded in Richmond by Lena B. Watson. It was first led by Lavnia Banks, a teacher from Armstrong High School. It first met in Hartshorn Hall, Virginia Union University. In 2008 a tree was planted in commemoration at Hartshorn Hall.[4]

In 1922 Girl Scouts of Richmond was chartered. In 1942 Petersburg Girl Scout Council was formed and in 1944, Hopewell Girl Scout Council. In 1953 Petersburg and Hopewell merged to form Southside. In 1963 Southside, Richmond, and Fredericksburg councils merged to form the current council.

Headquarters: Mechanicsville, Virginia
Website: http://www.comgirlscouts.org

Camps:

• Pamunkey Ridge Girl Scout Camp is 240 acres (0.97 km²) in Hanover, Virginia along the banks of the Pamunkey River. It was opened in 1996.
• Camp Kittamaqund is 387 acres (1.57 km²) and 5 miles (8.0 km) of shoreline on the Northern Neck. It was named after the chief in power at the time of English arrival. The property was acquired in 1964. In 2006 the council attempted to sell the property, but the sale fell through due to zoning regulations that limited redevelopment.

Earlier camps include Camp Pocahontas acquired in 1928; Camp Pinoaka, created in 1936 for African-American girl scouts; and Camp Holly Dell in 1951 (sold in 1996).

Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital

See Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital. Serves girls in northern Virginia as well.

Headquarters: Washington, D.C. Website: http://www.gscnc.org

Girl Scouts of Virginia Skyline Council

This council serves about 10,500 girls in 36 Virginia counties. It was established in 1963.

Headquarters: Roanoke, Virginia
Website: http://www.gsvsc.org

Camps:

• Camp Sacajawea is 119 acres (0.48 km²) on the James River near Lynchburg. It was named after the Native American woman who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
• Camp Sugar Hollow is 60 acres (240,000 m²) at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Charlottesville
• Icimani Adventure Program Center in Roanoke

Scouting museums in Virginia

Main article: Scouting museums

• Gregson Center and Museum, Pipsico Scout Reservation, Spring Grove, Virginia
• Nawakwa Lodge #3 Museum

See also

Scouting portal

• President Hoover's Camp Rapidan: Use by Boy Scouts

References

1. ^ http://www.shenshawpotoo.org

External links

• Blue Ridge Mountains Council
• Buckskin Council
• Colonial Virginia Council
• Del-Mar-Va Council
• National Capital Area Council
• Heart of Virginia Council
• Sequoyah Council
• Shenandoah Area Council
• Stonewall Jackson Area Council
• Tidewater Council
• record 11 Eagle Scouts in one patrol-Viking Patrol's Eagle Scout 11