Columbia-Montour Council - History - Early History (1908-1950)

Early History (1908-1950)

One of the earliest Scouting groups in Pennsylvania began in 1908 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, when a Superintendent with the Pennsylvania State Police, Lynn G. Adams, formed a troop using Baden-Powell's handbook, Scouting for Boys. The troop was made up of two patrols, one sponsored by the Pottsville Mission and the other by the YMCA. Adams became the first Scoutmaster in Pennsylvania in 1910 soon after the BSA was incorporated. The oldest Pennsylvania Scout troop still in existence is Troop Bala One in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, which was founded in 1908 by Frank H. Sykes.

The first council in Pennsylvania was the Delaware & Montgomery County Council in 1911. This council eventually became the former Valley Forge Council, now part of the Cradle of Liberty Council.

Sixteen councils were chartered in America between 1910 and 1913. The seventeenth was the Warren County Council headquartered in Warren, Pennsylvania. This Council later changed its name to Chief Cornplanter Council and is still in operation. It is currently the oldest existing, continuously registered council in America. The other preceding 16 councils either went out of business or merged with another Council at some point in their history. The information for this paragraph was provided by the Registration Department of the National Office of the BSA, Irving, TX in October 2007.

Also in 1913, the Philadelphia Council opened the first American scout camp, Treasure Island Scout Reservation, near Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania. Two years later, Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carrol Edson founded the Order of the Arrow, which inducted its first members on July 16, 1915 at Treasure Island.

In 1914, the Allegheny County Council, forerunner of today's Laurel Highlands Council, was chartered. Also in 1914, the Philadelphia council was chartered.

In 1915 charters were first granted to the councils headquartered in Erie, Wilkes-Barre, and Oil City, Pennsylvania.

In 1916, councils were chartered in Reading, Lancaster, Harrisburg, and Scranton, among others. The Council in Harrisburg is now part of New Birth of Freedom Council.

In 1917 Meadville, State College and Bethlehem were granted charters by the National Office, along with nine other councils.

1919 saw the councils in Williamsport, Altoona and Chester County formed. Like Chief Cornplanter, the Chester County Council is still in operation today and they represent only a handful of small one-county councils left in America. The other one in PA, Bucks County Council, received its first charter in 1927.

By 1920, forty-six Councils had been chartered in Pennsylvania. Most of these were small Councils no larger than the town they were named after. Some of these were known as "Second Class Councils".

In the following years, other currently chartered councils were started: Juniata Valley in 1929; Bucktail in 1930; Columbia-Montour and Schuylkill County Area in 1931; and York-Adams in 1932.

1937 saw the formation of the current Westmoreland-Fayette Council in Greensburg.

All other current Councils in Pennsylvania are the result of mergers which began to occur in the 1960s through present day.

1941 saw the creation of Camp Ockanickon, in Bucks County Council.

Among the claimants for First Boy Scout Troop in the United States is Troop 1 in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is also home to the oldest annual Scouting event in the nation, the Valley Forge Pilgrimage and Encampment.

In 1928, Eagle Scout (and Erie native) Paul Siple was one of the first Scouts to travel to Antarctica with Admiral Richard Byrd. Byrd had held a national contest to invite worthy Eagle Scouts along with the expedition. Paul Siple later went on to develop what is now known as the "Wind Chill Factor"

The 1921 and 1931 National Order of the Arrow Lodge Meetings were held at Philadelphia, the 1922 and 1927 National Lodge Meetings were held at Reading, Pennsylvania, and the 1940 National Lodge Meeting was held at Ligonier, Pennsylvania.

The 1950 National Scout Jamboree was held at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.