Camp Child

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Camp Child (aka Camp Harrison H. Child) was a summer camp in Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was run by the Old Colony Council of the Boy Scouts of America from 1925 through 1995. It provided a typical summer Camp experience for young men in a structured environment.

1 Activities
2 Composition
3 Surroundings
4 History
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Activities

Summer activities included the teaching of such outdoor skills as: camping, cooking, safe boating, swimming, archery, rifle shooting, hiking, field sports, nature appreciation, wilderness survival, and many other skills, most geared to the earning of merit badges.

[edit] Composition

Typically, established Boy Scout troops from communities of the South Shore in Massachusetts would arrive with their own leadership and camp for one or two weeks at a time. However, individual scouts could attend and form a “provisional troop” which was led by the camp's staff. The camp staff, mostly comprised of former campers and all scouts, would teach classes, set up camp, run activities for the campers, provide food in a dinning hall environment (or delivered to the campsite by truck), and otherwise help provide an enjoyable summer experience. The camp was rather large, so two swimming and boating areas at either side of the lake, as well as two scoutcraft training areas, were consistently maintained.

[edit] Surroundings

The camp completely surrounded a spring fed lake known as Morey’s Hole which provided clear water for the nearby Briggs Reservoir and cranberry bogs. A mix of Conifer forest with deciduous trees, oak, birch and maple intermingled. The camp had numerous hiking trails, running along the low rising hills which surrounded much of the pond, the most prominent height was Hio Hill, which was accessible by the Yellow Dot Trail and rose 204 feet above the camp providing excellent views.

Camp Child had colorful names for local features such as “The Phantom forest” and “Bird Point” which jutted majestically into the heart of Morey’s Hole. Near the lake, there existed a "bent stump" which later rotted away but remains as a centerpiece in Camp Child stories today.

[edit] History

In 1963, Camp Child hosted the Lithuanian Scout National Jamboree which ran from August 17th to September 1st, 1963. This probably was a high point for Camp Child and for scouting in the United States in general. ^[1]

From 1969-1970, Old Colony Council(OCC) merged with Squanto Council of Brockton, MA. This left the new OCC with two summer camps: Camp Child and Camp Squanto. The land Camp Child was built upon was acquired by gift and was held by the Old Colony Council by title.

Beginning in the 1970s, facilities began slowly expanding at Camp Squanto, while no significant improvements were made at Child, just routine maintenance. As time went on, the land at Camp Child became increasingly valuable as potential residential real estate. Old Colony Council, feeling a decline in the number of scouts (part of a national trend) and otherwise experiencing financial pressure, sold the camp in 1995. The site is now made up of residential communities.