Scouting in Virginia has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. Many of the local groups and districts took names of historic Virginia Indian tribes in the state.
Until 1948, most southern councils of the Boy Scouts of America were racially segregated, as the southern states had legal segregation of public facilities. Colored troops, as they were officially known, were given little financial support from districts and councils. The National Council began a program of integrating local councils in 1940, a process which lasted until 1974.
Since the 1981 National Scout Jamboree, all Jamborees have been held at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.
There are ten Boy Scouts of America local councils in Virginia. Loudoun, Fairfax, Stafford, Prince William, King George, Westmoreland and Northumberland counties are part of the Northeast Region. Most of Virginia is within Southern Region. Tazewell, Bland and Giles counties are included in the Central Region.
The Blue Ridge Mountains Council (BRMC) serves Scouts in southwest and south central Virginia.
Buckskin Council serves Scouts in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Giles, Bland and Tazewell Counties in Virginia.
Served by the Wahunsenakah Lodge of the Order of the Arrow.
Del-Mar-Va Council serves Scouts in Delaware, Maryland and Northampton and Accomack Counties in Virginia.
Formerly Robert E. Lee Council, this council was renamed in 2003.
The National Capital Area Council (NCAC) serves Scouts in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Loudon, Fairfax, Prince William, Fauquier, Stafford, King George, Caroline, Spotsylvania and Culpeper Counties in Virginia. NCAC operates two council camps: Goshen Scout Reservation, in Goshen, Virginia (physically within the Stonewall Jackson Area Council) and Camp Snyder in Haymarket, Virginia.
Sequoyah Council serves Scouts in Tennessee and Virginia.
Shenandoah Area Council headquarters is in Winchester, Virginia and serves Scouts in Clarke, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah, and Warren counties in Virginia and Berkeley, Morgan and Jefferson Counties in West Virginia. http://www.sac-bsa.org/
Camp Rock Enon was established in 1944, and is located at Rock Enon Springs near Gore, Virginia. The Order of the Arrow is represented by the Shenshawpotoo Lodge.
Tidewater Council is the local council of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) that serves southeastern Virginia and north-eastern North Carolina. This region is often referred to as South Hampton Roads or the Tidewater or Tidewater Virginia area; hence the name of the council. One of the first councils in the country, Tidewater Council was established in 1911, just one year after William Boyce of Chicago founded scouting in the United States. It was only three years after Sir Robert Baden-Powell founded the movement in England. In 1914 the local council was issued a second-class charter, as it did not have a professional scout executive.
Its Order of the Arrow counterpart is the Blue Heron Lodge, which was founded in 1946 when a team from Octoraro Lodge in Pennsylvania inducted the first members of Blue Heron Lodge.
There are seven Girl Scout councils serving girls in Virginia; three are headquartered in the state.
See Scouting in Tennessee. Serves Virginia girls in the extreme southwest of Virginia.
Headquarters; Johnson City, Tennessee
Website: http://www.girlscoutsappalachian.org
See Scouting in West Virginia. Serves Virginia girls in Bland, Buchanan, and Tazewell counties.
Headquarters: Charleston, West Virginia
Website: http://www.bdgsc.org
See Scouting in Delaware. Serves Virginia girls on the Delmarva Peninsula.
Headquarters: Newark, Delaware
Website: http://www.cbgsc.org
Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast serves over 16,500 girls, with 5,500 adult volunteers in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. It was established in 1981.
Headquarters: Chesapeake, Virginia
Website: http://www.gsccc.org
Camps:
The Girl Scout Commonwealth Council of Virginia serves more than 16,000 girls and has about 5,700 adult volunteers in 30 central Virginia counties. It was chartered in 1963, when three smaller councils serving Fredericksburg, Richmond, and Southside Virginia merged. In 2007, Surry County was moved from this council to Colonial Coast. The first troop formed in central Virginia was Troop #1, Highland Springs in 1913.[2][3]
In 1932 the first African-American troop in the South, Girl Scout Troop 101, was founded in Richmond by Lena B. Watson. It was first led by Lavnia Banks, a teacher from Armstrong High School. It first met in Hartshorn Hall, Virginia Union University. In 2008 a tree was planted in commemoration at Hartshorn Hall.[4]
In 1922 Girl Scouts of Richmond was chartered. In 1942 Petersburg Girl Scout Council was formed and in 1944, Hopewell Girl Scout Council. In 1953 Petersburg and Hopewell merged to form Southside. In 1963 Southside, Richmond, and Fredericksburg councils merged to form the current council.
Headquarters: Mechanicsville, Virginia
Website: http://www.comgirlscouts.org
Camps:
Earlier camps include Camp Pocahontas acquired in 1928; Camp Pinoaka, created in 1936 for African-American girl scouts; and Camp Holly Dell in 1951 (sold in 1996).
See Girl Scout Council of the Nation's Capital. Serves girls in northern Virginia as well.
Headquarters: Washington, D.C. Website: http://www.gscnc.org
This council serves about 10,500 girls in 36 Virginia counties. It was established in 1963.
Headquarters: Roanoke, Virginia
Website: http://www.gsvsc.org
Camps:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||