Camp Cachalot

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Camp Cachalot began in 1946 as the campground for the former Cachalot Council, Boy Scouts of America. It is located in the Myles Standish State Forest near Plymouth, Massachusetts.

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[edit] History

A large portion of the camp burned to the ground during the spring camporee in 1964, when multiple fires were set in the adjacent Myles Standish State Forest by an arsonist. As of 2005, the property has substantially recovered from the fire, and is in most areas more heavily forested than it had been prior to 1964. The sandy soil still turns black not more than two inches below-ground.

When the Cachalot and Massasoit Councils merged in 1972, the choice to sell off Camp Noquochoke stemmed from the size of the barren Cachalot property. At 880 acres (3.6 km²), the camp was able to better accommodate the larger resulting Moby Dick Council.

In 2001, Moby Dick Council merged with Narragansett Council. Camp Cachalot remains open as the only council-owned camp. Another camp within Narragansett Council is Yawgoog Scout Reservation, which is owned by the Rhode Island Boy Scouts.

Camp Cachalot is frequently the site of the annual Moby Dick Council Klondike Derby (the Massasoit/Cachalot District Klondike Derby since 2002). This annual event pits teams of patrols against each other in competitions mostly centering around wilderness survival and teamwork skills. The event is supposed to recreate conditions of Alaskan gold-seeking teams, and often does when there's been enough January snowfall.

Eagle week is held every summer, usually in the fifth week of the camping season. This week is set aside for aspiring Eagle Scouts to attend and work on remaining parts of the application process, such as letters, required merit badges.

Many projects and buildings at Camp Cachalot have benefited from grants made by the George W. Magee Memorial Trust Fund.

[edit] Sites

The campsites at Cachalot exist in four forms: Cabins, adirondacks, campsites, and outposts. Adirondacks are three-walled semi-cabins with open fronts, and they sleep four people. Cabins sleep between 10 and 20 people. The most famous cabin is the 21 Club, which has a maximum sleeping capacity of 20 people. Campsites are slowly being improved: Some have platforms for setting up summer camp tents, while others have a "house" frame with a platform to set tents up on. Outposts are merely clearings suitable for pitching standard tents, far removed into the woods. One campsite, Dragon's Landing, borders on being an outpost: It is located within the main camp, but is secluded and suitable only for pup-tents.

[edit] Cabins

For cabins, aside from the 21 Club, there are Cabin 1, Cabin 2, the Duplex, the Health Lodge, the Cook's Cabin, and Magee Village, a group of small cabins for summer camp staff, adjacent to Noquochoke.

[edit] Campsites

Campsites include James West, Dan Beard, Noquochoke, Acooshnet, Sippican, Sconticut East, Sconticut West, Assonet East, Assonet West, Witch's Circle, Nemasket, and Dragon's Landing.

[edit] Adirondacks

The Adirondacks are styled Baden-Powell.

[edit] Outposts

The primary outpost is in the southwest corner of the camp, located off the Green Trail, and called Frontiersman's Clearing. Witch's Circle and Dragon's Landing are also sometimes considered outposts because of their out-of-the-way locations, even though they're in the main camp.

[edit] Major structures

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The 21 Club is the oldest building in the camp, having been moved to the facility from its original site at Troop 21's campsite off Drift Road in Westport, MA sometime before 1948. It was used for several summers as the first camp Trading Post, as well as being used for year-round camping. After being moved to Cachalot, a fireplace and a smaller back room was added. The building underwent major renovations in the mid-1980s.

Prescott Dining Hall, adjacent to Prescott Field, is one of the oldest structures in the camp, constructed in 1951. It is one of buildings in the main camp property that survived the 1964 fire, and features well over 100 plaques hanging from its rafters crafted by Scout troops to show they attended summer camp. Prior to its construction, a large tent on the same site was used as a dining facility during summer camp.

The Covill Chapel is a small, outdoor, partially-enclosed sanctuary located not far from the mess hall and the Cook's Cabin. It was dedicated in 1968 in the memory of Raymond Covill, who had been instrumental in the initial purchase of and the development of the Cachalot property.

The Trading Post was originally a cement-block structure covered with a pine façade. A prior, wood-framed trading post/administration building on the same site burned in the late 1980s. Across Tom Cullen Field are the rifle and archery ranges. Some time after 2000, the trading post was renovated and became the new location for Handicraft. The subsequent confusion, from many campers and staff knowing the building and referring to it as the Trading Post for so many years, earned it the nick name "The Handipost."

The Silver Fox's Den has been a lounge for Scoutmasters, recently completed by longtime Cadre Scoutmaster "Big Al" Langlais (it was originally the camp showerhouse.) However, recently it has been renovated to be the camps new Trading Post. The name, however, remains - as do many of the Scoutmasters. Nearby is the former Camp Commissioner's Corner, which is now a maintenance shed. This building was originally used as a trading post, and predates the 1964 fire.

The Boathouse is a large waterfront structure in the parking lot, near the 21 Club. In the summer it hosted Handi-Craft for many years. In 2006 it became the new location for the Nature area. The Boathouse also houses the Cycling Center, and the Welcome Center.

[edit] See also

Scouting Portal

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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