HISTORY OF COUNCILS IN THE BSA
ALABAMA
Boy Scout Council History
By Ed Henderson
1998 was a major milestone in Alabama Council history. Nearly all of the
upper half of the state merged from three councils into one, in the process,
the Greater Alabama Council became one of the largest in the B.S.A. Modern
day Alabama has five councils headquartered within the state plus three
other councils based out of the state that serve some Alabama counties.
Over the past 90 years however there have been 14 cities that have hosted
an Alabama Boy Scout Council. The earliest council formation in the state
dates back to 1915 with the Birmingham Area Council (Council # 2). The
council kept the same name all the way till January 1st 1996. We believe
this is the longest running name for any council in the country with no
changes over the course of more than 80 years.
Only
one Alabama based council extends their reach into another state, as you
might expect, the Alabama-Florida Council, based in Dothan AL has a few
counties in the Florida panhandle.
There are three councils based outside Alabama that also serve parts of the state:
* Chattahoochee Council based in Columbus GA serves the Auburn & Opelika Areas on the eastern mid section of the state
* Gulf Coast Council based in Pensacola FL serves the westernmost part of the Florida Panhandle. It needs to be noted that the BSA currently has two councils called "Gulf Coast Council" the other being located in Texas.
* Choctaw Area Council, just over the line in Meridian Mississippi serves a relatively small area of West Central Alabama.
The entire state of Alabama is in the Southern Region of the B.S.A. with the regional headquarters based out of Kennesaw GA.
MOBILE AREA COUNCIL
http://www.bsamobile.org/ based in Alabama's 2nd largest city is a
relatively small council in terms of geographic reach, covering a four
country area but serving quite a few units. Scouting at the council level
began in this port city in 1919 with the formation of the Mobile Council.
The name lasted until 1924 when AREA was added. For one year in 1926 the
council experimented with the name Mobile & Baldwin Counties Council
before returning in 1927 to Mobile Area Council. The name has stuck ever
since. The Council has two camp properties, unfortunately it was one of
only two councils that chose not to participate & provide information
for the Scout
Camps USA Guide 2nd Edition. The only information on the two camps
is on the main council homepage, here is what the site states: "The
council owns and operates one long term camp, Camp Maubila, which is the
council's centerpiece for camping, water sports, and high adventure. The
current property is located about one hour 40 minutes from downtown Mobile
and encompasses over 686 acres. The property includes a lake for water
sports, a swimming pool, a rappelling tower, one large dinning hall, campsites
and facilities for archery, marksmanship and nature study. It also includes
a state of the art conference and training facility for weekend conferences,
used by adult Scouters. More than 75,000 (camper days) have been logged
at Camp Maubila during the past thirty years." The website goes on
"Camp Pushmataha, the council's weekend primitive facility, was at
one time the Council Camp. It is located in Citronelle approximately one
hour from downtown Mobile. It encompasses 86 acres. The facility is available
to all boys and is opened year round. Many Scouts and leaders have enjoyed
the camp for over 60 years." Aside from the two council camps, thousands
of scouts visit the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship for overnight visits. More
information on this popular destination can be found at:
http://www.ussalabama.com/
To
see all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=8
TUKABATCHEE
AREA COUNCIL http://www.tukabatchee-bsa.org/ is based in thecapital city
of Montgomery. As with Mobile Area Council (see above), Scouting at the
council level started here in 1919 as the Montgomery Council (Council
#5). In 1923 the name was changed to Montgomery County Council for a seven
year stint. In 1930 the council chose to revert to the earlier Montgomery
Council, this time sticking with the name until 1946. That year, the modern
name of the council was adopted, Tukabatchee Area Council, which the council
has kept to this day. Within the confines of the council there was also
a short lived unnumbered council based in Selma for two years beginning
in 1918. The council ended two years later and was absorbed by the Tukabatchee
Area Council. The council's camping facility has recently undergone quite
a transformation. What was once just Camp Tukabatchee is now part of a
larger Warner Scout Reservation. The old Tukabatchee is now called Camp
Dexter Hobbs and an entirely new Camp Tukabatchee is now a showcase facility
for scouts from all over the region. One interesting note is a well developed
trail called the Taylor Dawson Interpretive Trail, see
http://www.tukabatchee-bsa.org/nattrail.htm
for details.
More information on the entire Warner Scout Reservation, visit:
http://www.tukabatchee-bsa.org/wsr.htm.
Warner Scout Reservation consists of approximately 1,000 acres of beautiful
rolling hills overlooking two lakes that are excellent for fishing, swimming,
and other aquatic activities. Warner Scout Reservation has Camp Dexter
Hobbs & Camp Tukabatchee.
To
see all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=10
ALABAMA-FLORIDA
COUNCIL http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/Campground/1110/
covers the Southeastern corner of the state and is based in Dothan AL.
The first council in this part of the state was actually the Choctawhatchee
Council (Council # 726) which formed in 1925. This council had a life
of five years before the economic downturn from the stock market crash
of 1929 forced the council to disband in 1930. Five years later in 1935
a new effort was made to start a council in Dothan, this time as the Southeast
Alabama Council. Council # 3 was now available as a Gadsden based council
using that number had closed two years earlier (see below under Greater
Alabama Council). The Southeast Alabama Council ran from 1935 until 1963
when the current name of Alabama-Florida Council was adopted. The Council
has one 520 acre camp, Ala-Flo located in New Brockton AL. More information
about the camp can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/campground/1110/alaflo.htm.
To
see all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=4
BLACK
WARRIOR COUNCIL http://www.blackwarriorcouncil.com/
based inTuscaloosa has also had a long history, and in fact, is older
than any othercouncil in the state with the same name & council number
(Council # 6) whichit first got in 1922. The only other change in the
council during the past80 years was the inclusion of the Jasper AL based
Walker-Lamar Council (Council # 709). Jasper first had this council from
1925 - 1932 before it was disbanded. In 1936 another effort was made to
establish a council in this college town before finally merging into Black
Warrior in 1938. For many years the council had two camps, but a third
property was recently acquired. The primary council facility is Camp Horne,
located in east Tuscaloosa County on 488 acres. For more information see
http://www.blackwarriorcouncil.com/camps/camphorne/camphorne.htm.
A smaller weekend camp is Camp O'Rear, a 90-acre facility located in Jasper
AL and operated as a primitive-style weekend camp. Camp O'Rear does have
an old dining hall building (with one large room, one small room, kitchen
& fireplace). The newest addition to the council is the White Bluff
Scout Reservation, a new 169-acre camp in Demopolis. The name is derived
from a prominent geographical feature along the Tombigbee River. For more
information on Camps O'Rear & White Bluff visit:
http://www.blackwarriorcouncil.com/camps/CouncilCamps.htm.
To
see all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=5
GREATER ALABAMA COUNCIL http://www.1bsa.org/ (brand new council URL!!) is the culmination of quite a few councils over the years, culminating in a giant three way merger on January 1st 1998. It is one of the largest councils in Southern Region by land area coverage and while the councils are merged, the old headquarters facilities in Huntsville and Anniston have been retained, as have all council camping facilities. To help understand the council evolution, we have broken it down into the three former council headquarters cities:
ANNISTON
- This eastern Alabama City had the coveted distinction of being declared
Choccolocco Council, Council # 1 (by virtue of the fact that Alabama was
the first state alphabetically in the union and the headquarters city
of Anniston was the first city alphabetically within the state).
Scouting formed here in 1921 and continued, unchanged, until the three
way merger in 1998. Over the years however, the council did grow in real
estate. The nearby city of Gadsden had formed the Etowah County Council
in 1919 with a six year run before renaming itself the Northeastern Alabama
Council in 1925. The Gadsden based council operated 8 more years before
being absorbed into Choccolocco in 1933. Two years later Dothan acquired
Gadsden's former designation of Council # 3.
HUNTSVILLE
- This town, known for its contribution to Space Exploration first established
itself as the Tennessee Valley Council (#659) in 1924 before ending in
1931. Three years later the council reformed with the same name &
number and continued until 1998. In the same year as the firstTennessee
Valley Council formed in Huntsville, there was also a Muscle
Shoals Council (#668) that had been started in Sheffield AL. This council
lasted four years before folding into Tennessee Valley in 1928. The city
of Florence also established a council in 1926 as the Andrew Jackson Council
(#730). This council, as so many others did, folded in 1930 with the fall
of the stock market. The name however, of the Andrew Jackson Council would
be seen again. Currently that is the name for the Jackson Mississippi
based council. It should be noted that the U.S. Space & Rocket Center
& Space Camp USA based in Huntsville Alabama attracts thousands of
Scouts from across the country each year with it's tours of the Marshall
Space Flight Test Center of NASA.
BIRMINGHAM
- Alabama's largest city has had a council since 1915. Originally known
as the Birmingham Area Council (Council #2), the council ran for 80 years
before changing its name on January 1st 1996 to the Central Alabama Council.
The CSP of this council is already a favorite as the name lasted for only
two years. In 1998 the name of the council changed again,
along with a huge increase in size to become the Greater Alabama Council
(Council # 1, shedding its old designation of Council # 2 in favor of
the just merged Choccolocco Council). The only other council that existed
within the confines of this region was a short lived South Jefferson County
Council (# 681) based in Bessemer Alabama. The council ran three years
from 1924 to 1927 before being absorbed by Birmingham.
MODERN
DAY GREATER ALABAMA COUNCIL can also lay reasonable claim to having one
of the most noteworthy and unique Scout Service Centers in the nation.
Easily visible from the Interstate, the facility is largely underground
with
a "Liberty Park" dominated by a replica of the Statue of Liberty.
The
council is also rich in scout camp facilities. Unfortunately the council
is
in the middle of changing it's website and all of the wonderful pages
that
had been built around each of it's camp properties are now dead links.
Keep
checking the council's new home page where the new camp URL's will hopefully
soon reappear. Camp Jack Wright is a small primitive camp located at
Tannehill State Park, which is located off I-59, 12 miles southwest of
Bessemer & less than 30 minutes from Birmingham. The main camp of
the old
Tennessee Valley Council was Camp Jackson. Since the merger this camp
has
undergone perhaps the greatest transformation. Before it was primarily
a
weekend camp with no long term summer camp program. Now it is a Venturing
Hi-Adventure Base that has been featured in Scouting Magazine and now
attracts older scouts from a number of states. Camp Jackson is located
approximately 5 miles east of Scottsboro on Highway 40 just off Highway
35
on the Tennessee River @ Jones Cove, situated on some 400-plus acres.
Another weekend facility is Camp Rushton, a part of the Winnataska Outdoor
Education Center. This is a short-term camp where semi-rustic camping
is
the primary focus. Located just 25 miles east of Birmingham, off Interstate
20, this camp has 9 sites. Camp Sequoyah is nestled among 1,440 acres
of
woodlands in east central Alabama, near Cheaha State Park. The centerpiece
of Sequoyah in its 80 acre lake. Also known as the Frank Spain Scout
Reservation. Camp Westmoreland is a 284 acre facility located about 5
miles
from Florence, Alabama. This camp, with its beautiful forest of hardwoods
and pines, boarders Shoal Creek, one of the hottest recreation waterways
in
north Alabama. Camp Winnataska, while owned by the council is primarily
directed to non Scout users. It is the only council owned camp in the
Southern Region to also be certified by the American Camping Association.
The Winnataska Outdoor Education Center is located 30 miles from Birmingham,
between Leeds & Pell City. Finally Comer Scout Reservation, the main
camp
of the old Choccolocco Council, is located four miles south of historic
Mentone, Alabama, on DeSoto Parkway. This 1,087 acre facility rests high
atop Lookout Mountain in Dekalb County.
To
see all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=6
There are several other councils of note in Alabama's Scouting History.
Before being folded into Georgia's Chattahoochee Council, there was a
Central Alabama Council (# 764) operating in the town of Opelika from
1927 to 1934. At the time of it's merger in 1989, the George H. Lanier
Council was the smallest council in the United States, headquartered in
the small border village of West Point Georgia on the Alabama border.
It served "the valley" area of about a dozen small, mostly Alabama
towns represented by various textile manufacturing plants belonging to
the West Point Pepperell Company. The President of this concern, Mr. George
H. Lanier, was not only able to fund his own council from 1950 to 1989,
but was even able to get that small pocket of Alabama to be included in
the Eastern time zone! West Point's camp, Camp Pine Mountain had a cabin
that was named for and kept up by the plant workers from each textile
plant. Columbus Georgia was known as the Georgia-Alabama Council from
1934 to 1964 before picking up the West Georgia Council based in LaGrange
and becoming the Chattahoochee Council. It absorbed the George H. Lanier
Council in 1989.
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
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