Santa Clara County Council
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Santa Clara County Council, Inc. is a Boy Scouts of America council headquartered in San Jose, California. As of 2004, the council serves over 11,000 youth in over 400 Boy Scout troops, Cub Scout packs, Venturing crews, and Explorer posts.
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[edit] History
The San Jose Council of the Boy Scouts of America was founded on August 20, 1920 by John Crummey (president of Bean Spray and Pump Company (later known as Food Machinery Corporation)), Robert Bentley, Jr. (president of Muirson Label Company) and Archer Bowden (San Jose attorney). Bentley served as the first council president, Julius Rainwater was the first Scout executive, and Edmund Richmond was the first council commissioner.
In 1922, the council changed its name to Santa Clara County Council, and took over administration for all of Santa Clara County. The council was incorporated in 1923, and oversight of San Benito County was added the same year. Monterey and Santa Cruz counties were added in 1927.
In 1933 San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were split off to form the Monterey Bay Area Council. In 1939 the area around Palo Alto split off to form its own council, the now-defunct Stanford Area Council. That council, which had been the smallest BSA council in the nation by area, merged with San Mateo County Council in the 1990s to form Pacific Skyline Council.
[edit] Council Camps
Santa Clara County Council currently operates two camps, and has operated several others in the past.
[edit] Camp Hi-Sierra
Camp Hi-Sierra is a Boy Scout camp located in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, only minutes away from the small town of Longbarn, California. This camp is notably high, with the majority of its buildings standing at approximately 4,800 feet and the highest point of the mountain standing over a mile high at 5,300 feet. The camp is used year round with eight weeks of Scouting camp during the summer, one of which is the International Rendezvous every even year. During the 'off season' Camp Hi-Sierra is used for training sessions as well as council activities.
[edit] History
Camp Hi-Sierra was created in 1949 with land that the Santa Clara County Council bought within the Stanislaus National Forest. Before the camp was a Scout Reservation though it was inhabited by Native Americans living there. When logging scions discovered the forest, they decided to start logging in the spot where the camp is now located. To this day, as one walks through camp, they can still see remnants of the logging industry, bits of saws, etc... Currently small-scale logging continues along the main camp road.
As of now, the Santa Clara County Council maintains the camp as well as a full time ranger who lives in the camp year round, he is the caretaker for all of Camp Hi-Sierra. The current Ranger is Alan Buscaglia as of March 2007.
[edit] Location
This camp is located within the Stanislaus National Forest with its official postal address in nearby Long Barn, California. It is reachable by California State Route 108, where the Camp road can be found approximately 30 miles East of Sonora, California. Cold Springs, California is immediately adjacent to the Camp's road and about 1 mile further East on Hwy 108. The tourist town of Pinecrest, California and its popular Pinecrest Lake, California are approximately 5 miles further East on Hwy 108.
[edit] Programs
Camp Hi-Sierra offers a range of Scouting programs to meet participants' skill levels and experience:
- Webelos Camp (for 2nd-year Webelos Scouts)
- Boy Scout Summer Camp (Hi-Sierra's main program for Boy Scouts)
- Trail to First Class (for first-year Scouts working on achieving their First Class rank)
- Merit Badges
- Mountain Man (a "living history" program based around 19th-century metalworking and woodworking crafts)
- Mountain Adventure (a recently-developed transition program for 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-year campers)
- High Adventure
- Climbing (featuring a 35-ft tall climbing/rappelling tower)
- Mountain biking
- Trekking (guided backpacking trips exploring the National Forest)
- Senior Patrol Leader (SPL) Week
- Counselor-In-Training (CIT) experience
- Adult leader trainings
- Tribe of Hi-Sierra (a service-based honor society open to all youth and adults participating in Camp Hi-Sierra programs)
[edit] Facilities
In Camp Hi-Sierra there are a variety of buildings. The camp includes a dormitory, dining hall, staff office, and other structures. Located on the North Fork of the Tuolumne River, Camp Hi-Sierra is cut into two, divided by the river down the middle. On the western side is Staff hill, home to the camp staff during the summertime. Also, this side contains the staff offices, health lodge, dining hall, dormitories, flag meadow, and the ranger's home. On the southern-most end of the camp property is the lake, a small man-made one, which also is home to the boathouse.
The boathouse is relatively small, considering the size of the lake, though it contains lots of watersports equipment. The boathouse and adjacent lake contain several canoes, rowboats, and kayaks.
On the eastern side of camp is the Blackfoot Meadow, home to the baseball diamond. Directly across from Blackfoot Meadow is the archery range where Scouts learn how to pull and shoot bows as well as make their own arrows. The Archery area has also recently re-introduced their esteemed "Field Archery" course, thanks to their most recent archery range-master Tyler Gardner ('06), Ryan Andrews ('06 Scoutcraft Director), and Arthur Eigenbrot ('06 Foxfire Director), which is located opposite of the frisbee golf course. Also there is the High-Adventure area, this includes the bike barn and rock climbing tower. In the late 1990s this tower was built along with the adjacent bouldering wall, the climbing tower is over 50 feet tall. Next to the High Adventure area is the Trail to First Class area and beyond that the Scoutcraft station. Opposite from Scoutcraft is the Livery. Here, scouts can practice their crafts skills including basketry and pottery.
Across from the climbing area is the Trading Post, which was first built in 2005 and later remodeled in 2006. Various things from otter pops to craft kits can be purchased here.
On the same side of the river is the Nature Area, which was at one point the High-Adventure Base. The log-cabin has now been converted into the nature lodge, though on the second floor there is space for two people to sleep.
Across from the Nature Area is the new Handicraft Area, where Scouts can do activities such as Leatherwork, Woodcarving and Basketry. On the other side of the Nature Area is Foxfire. This is the blacksmith shop for Camp Hi-Sierra. On this fenced-in property, there is a tipi for Native American classes, and a full blacksmith shop where the blacksmithing is taught to scouts. For scouts that are interested there is also a Mountain Man Program. This program is comprised of techniques that the so called Mountain Men used in days of old. This means blacksmithing, woodcarving, tomohawk throwing, and backpack making to name a few.
The eastern side of the river contains all of the scout camps where approximately anywhere from 250-350 scouts can be housed in tents depending upon how many are placed in each of the tents.
The last of the structures on this side of the river is the Shooting Range. This and the chapel are the only places that camp staff uses regularly that are tucked away from the river banks. At the shooting range scouts can learn about rifles and shotguns. Once they have learned the rules of the range, they can shoot either the .22 caliber rifles that the camp provides, or try their hand at the shotguns.
Camp Hi-Sierra's chapel is used for non-denominational services, and conducted within the trees overlooking the lake. Below the chapel is Camp Hi-Sierra's ampitheater which the Camp uses several times each week for campfires, announcements or whatever the staff has in mind.
One of the camp's exciting new facilities is its 9 hole Frisbee Golf (Folf) course. Designed by Dylan Hendrickson and build through a series of service projects in 2005, the Hi-Sierra Frisbee Golf course has proven to be fun for youth and leaders alike. The course is one of the first put into a BSA camp, if not the first.
[edit] Chesebrough Scout Reservation
Chesebrough Scout Reservation, also called Camp Chesebrough is a 544 acre (2.2 km²) Boy Scouts of America camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties, California. The camp is owned by the Memorial Foundation of the Santa Clara County Council, and is used year round for troop campouts, Order of the Arrow events and Wood Badge trainings; and as a Cub Scouts (Boy Scouts of America) day camp and a junior leadership resident camp during the summer.
[edit] History
The original 404 acres (1.6 km²) of Chesebrough Scout Reservation, in Santa Cruz County, were donated to Santa Clara County Council by Paul and Nessie Chesebrough in 1977. Paul had inherited the camp and much of the surrounding area from his aunt Edith Van Antwerp in 1949. The Chesebroughs felt that the land should remain open and available for use by the people of California, so they donated much of it to the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, the Sempervirens Fund, and of course, the Boy Scouts. The Chesebroughs donated another 140 acres (0.6 km²) adjoining the property in San Mateo County in 1983.
The council wanted to use Chesebrough as an undeveloped wilderness camp, but the closing of Camp Stuart in Saratoga in 1990 forced many of the activities from that camp to Chesebrough, including the Cub Scout day camp which required the construction of additional facilities.
[edit] Location
Chesebrough Scout Reservation stradles the Santa Cruz-San Mateo county border, and is located nine miles (15 km) south of Saratoga on California Highway 9, and two miles (3 km) south of that road's intersection with California Highway 35, or Skyline Boulevard at Saratoga Gap. The Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail passes through the camp about five miles (8 km) from its Skyline terminus, in Castle Rock State Park.
The camp is bordered by Saratoga Gap and Long Ridge Open Space Preserves of the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, and Castle Rock and Portola State Parks.
[edit] Facilities
Chesebrough Scout Reservation has about 8 campsites, each capable of holding at least 30 campers. In addition, the camp has a large modern kitchen, a 300 seat campfire ampetheater, BB gun and archery ranges, and 32 miles (51 km) of hiking trails. The trails connect to the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail, giving access to Castle Rock State Park, Big Basin Redwoods State Park, and Cutter Scout Reservation.
[edit] Former camps
- Alum Rock Park (1921 - unknown). The council was given exclusive access to 15 acres (61,000 m²) in the park.
- Camp Swanton (1924 – 1930)
- Camp Arroyo Sequoia (1931 – 1944, 1948)
- Camp Bonnie Brier (early 1940s), now known as Boulder Creek Scout Reservation and operated by Pacific Skyline Council
- San Lorenzo Scout Ranch (1941 – 1948)
[edit] Camp Stuart
Camp Stuart (formally, the Stuart Scout Training Reservation), founded in 1944, is a defunct camp in Saratoga, California. It was donated by Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Stuart, and named in memory of their son, Reginald Ross Stuart. The camp contains 144 acres (0.583 km²), and is located near Sanborn-Skyline County Park.
The camp had a pool, dining room, multipurpose building, flush toilets, shower building, meeting lodge and many campsites. Bohlman Road, which was paved in the 1950s, divides the camp in two. One side served as a Cub Scout day camp, one of the largest in the United States, serving nearly 3000 Scouts each year.
Camp Stuart's last summer of operation was in 1988. The Santa Clara County Council already owned two other camps, and decided to sell Camp Stuart to take advantage of rising land values. The camp was sold in 1989, shortly before several buildings were damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake. The county has not demolished or developed the camp, and has no funds or apparent plans for the area.
[edit] Order of the Arrow
[edit] Districts
- Gavilan District
- Mene Oto District
- Mount Hamilton District
- Pioneer District
- Polaris District
- Sierra District
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Santa Clara County Council official site
- SCCC Programs-Camping-Camp Hi-Sierra Santa Clara County Council's official Camp Hi-Sierra page
- Friends of Camp Hi-Sierra promotional site in-progress
[edit] References
- Mardi Bennett (ed); Scouting in the Santa Clara Valley; 1990; Rosicrucian Press; San Jose, California; ISBN 0-9628133-0-3
