HISTORY
OF COUNCILS IN THE BSA
FEATURED STATE: South Carolina
By Ed Henderson
Every month, the Scouting E-Zine focuses on a different state of the union to see how Scouting has evolved over the past 90 years. In our first feature, we focused on Missouri Council History. In this issue we will take a look at how Scouting has changed in the Palmetto State. If you would like for us to profile your state next send an e-mail to info@honorpub.com and we will research your state next.
Modern Day South Carolina has five councils headquartered within the state plus a large chunk of the Western midsection is served by the Georgia-Carolina Council based out of Augusta Georgia. Despite many realignments of the regions and sections over the years the councils and O.A. Lodges have remained, more or less, in the same section where the very popular "Dixie Fellowships" are the local moniker for the O.A. Conclaves.
Most modern day councils got their earliest start in the late 1920's. At one time there were more than 800 councils in the united states. Today there are well less than half of that but South Carolina's councils have remained remarkable stable, avoiding much of the merger mania that taken place in other parts of the country (especially the Northeast Region).
BLUE
RIDGE COUNCIL http://www.blueridgecouncil.org/, based in Greenville
SC was established in 1932, having changed its name from the Greenville
Council which was first established in 1923. For a very few years the
college town of Newberry had a council (Musgrove) that operated between
1924 and 1927 before being disbanded and merged into what was then the
Greenville Council. Blue Ridge Council operates Camp
Old Indian http://www.bsa.net/sc/t15/campoi.html, (1200 acres) the
only camp actually within the state that is perched high in the cool Blue
Ridge Mountains that form the northern border with North Carolina at the
town of Traveler's Rest.
To see all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=293
INDIAN WATERS COUNCIL http://www.iwc-bsa.com/, based in the Capital
City of Columbia represents a number of council name changes dating back
to the Columbia Council (1919-1923) and then changing over to the Richland
County Council (1923-1929). At that name another name change was in the
offing that would serve area scouts for nearly 50 years as the Central
South Carolina Council which ran from 1929 to 1978 before the current
name change was adopted. Scouting is alive and well here, with a brand
new Camp
Barstow http://www.iwc-bsa.com/CampBarstow.asp (340 acres) that replaced
the old facility in 1996. With the new facility in Gaston / Batesburg
SC area on the Little Saluda River the council has seen an increase in
the number of campers and troops each year.
To see all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=295
PALMETTO
AREA COUNCIL http://www.palmetto-bsa.org/, is located in Spartanburg,
perhaps the fastest growing region of the state. Its Genesis can be found
in two now deceased councils. Union SC once operated as the Pickney Council
(1924-1927) and the Spartanburg County Council (1923-1928 obviously was
based in Spartanburg, that council later changed its name to Spartanburg
Area Council and lasted for four years (1928-1932). During the time of
the Great Depression, many councils struggled and the Spartanburg Area
Council was disbanded in 1932, being placed into "Direct Service."
In 1935 the modern day Palmetto Council was formed and has operated continually
ever since. The council's main camp,
Camp Bob Hardin, http://www.palmetto-bsa.org/camp/cbh/ (256 acres)
is actually across the state line in the Blue Ridge Mountain Range of
North Carolina near the town of Saluda. Very often one can find more Florida
Council strips on uniforms there each week than both Carolina's combined.
Within South Carolina the council operates a second weekend camp near
Gaffney called Camp Charles Lea.
To see all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=296
PEE
DEE AREA COUNCIL http://www.pdabsa.org/ is based in Florence SC but
over the past two decades has seen the booming area of Myrtle Beach /
Conway become the major population center for scout units. The old Florence
Council was first established way back in 1919 before flaming out a year
later. In 1928 the council reformed under it's current name. The council
has one camp located near the town of Society Hill called Camp Coker (no
functional camp website, 600 acres) To see all of the unit websites within
this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=297
COASTAL
CAROLINA COUNCIL http://www.coastalcarolinabsa.org/ headquarters is
the historic city of Charlestown and covers the entire bottom part of
the state. What was first known as the Charlestown County Council in 1921
evolved into the current Coastal Carolina Council in 1941. This is the
only council with two camp properties in the state. The primary facility
is Camp
Ho Non Wah on Wadmalaw Island http://coastalcarolinabsa.org/camp_ho_non_wah.htm
& a better (but unofficial) web site at
http://www.carolinaswampfox.homestead.com/summercamp.html
(140 acres). It is on an island that is just two miles from the Atlantic
Ocean in the coastal waters of the state where it offers the Blue Water
High Adventure Sailing Program. The council has a second weekend camp
on Lake Moultrie just outside Moncks Corner called Camp Moultrie. To see
all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=294
GEORGIA-CAROLINA
COUNCIL http://www.gacacouncil.org/ based in Augusta Georgia lies
just across the Savannah River from the state, and together with Aiken
SC makes up a sizable metropolitan area. Its beginning can be traced to
a series of name changes beginning with Augusta Council (1920-1925) then
the Richmond County Council (1925-1929) and then back to Augusta Area
Council (129-1941) before finally settling on its current name of the
Georgia-Carolina Council in 1941. The Council is undergoing a significant
change in it's camps. Old Camp Linwood Hayne just 12 miles from downtown
has been enveloped by development. It is slated to be renovated into a
Cub Word facility while the council works to complete what will become
America's newest long-term Scout camp on the massive Lake J. Strom Thurmond
in Lincoln County. When the camp opens in 2003 as the Knox
Scout Reservation http://www.gacacouncil.org/camping.htm, (240 acres)
just across the lake from South Carolina, it should become a major attraction
for area scout troops. To see all of the unit websites within this council
visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=69
The author
maintains the links at NetRoster,
Scout
Camp Database and the ScoutCamp.org
for South Carolina. For corrections contact him at BigEd@usscouts.org
Where
would you like the staff at the Scouting E-Zine to take you next,
write us at info@honorpub.com
and tell us which state's history you want to
read about in our next issue!