HISTORY OF COUNCILS IN THE BSA
FEATURED STATE: VERMONT
By Ed Henderson
Vermont
is the only state with exactly one Boy Scout Council that is limited to
the Geographic 
borders
of the state. The modern day Green Mountain Council based in Waterbury
VT was formed in 1972 following a number of earlier mergers but there
has been a Green Mountain Council in the state all the way back to 1929.
Scouting at the council level however dates back to the very beginning
of Scouting in the United States with the town of Burlington hosting an
unnumbered council of the same name as far back as 1910.
The entire state of Vermont is in the Northeast Region of the B.S.A. with the regional headquarters based out of Jamesburg NJ. At one time or another 7 different towns in Vermont have served as host for a Boy Scout Council Service Center.
If
you are interested in additional information on New England Scouting,
we highly recommend the Scouts New England Website. They have extensive
information on Vermont Scouting and the Green Mountain Council at:
http://members.tripod.com/~SNE/gmc.htm
GREEN MOUNTAIN COUNCIL http://users.aol.com/gmcbsa moved into a new Service Center in 1972 following the total consolidation of the state. With the merger, the council got a new headquarters city, with Waterbury hosting a BSA Service Center for the first time. The modern day council is # 592.
Burlington VT has played a key role in Vermont Scouting history, with the first council being created there in 1910. In 1920 the council was assigned the number 592 by the National Office and continued six more years before changing its name to Champlain Council (also # 592) in 1926. The newly named council lasted three years before being hit hard by the stock market crash of 1929 when it was disbanded. Just a few years later, in 1933, a new council (same 592 number) was established. This time Burlington was host to the Long Trail Council which has a successful 40 year run before ending in the final statewide consolidation in 1972.
Rutland VT is another key city in the history of Vermont Councils. Briefly, there was an unnumbered council here as early as 1920 before failing to recharter in 1921. A year later in 1923 the Rutland County Council (#593) formed and lasted until 1929 when it merged with the Montpelier VT based Owl Council (#762). The Owl Council had formed three years earlier in 1926. The combination of the Owl & Rutland County Council formed the first Green Mountain Council, based in Rutland with a Council Number of 593. This council continued on until 1965 when a merger took place with the Calvin Coolidge Council based out of Bellows Falls VT. The Calvin Coolidge Council (# 747) had been in Bellows Falls since it was formed in 1936. There was a predecessor to the Calvin Coolidge Council, for a decade between 1926 & 1936 a Windham - Windsor Council existed based out of Springfield VT. Rutland VT would remain the host city of a council for seven more years as the merger of the Calvin Coolidge & Green Mountain Council formed the Ethan Allen Council (#593). Rutland, as with Burlington, ended their rein as a headquarters city with the 1972 statewide merger of the two remaining councils.
Records show only one other council that existed in the state, there was an unnumbered council of the same name in Brattleboro VT from 1916 to 1921.
The
Green Mountain Council is widely known for a multi-site Ski Program that
attracts other units from all over the country. The program has it's own
website at:
http://hometown.aol.com/gmcbsa/council/ski.html.
The council
also operates two camp facilities and has a summer high adventure program.
Information on all Council camps can be found on the Council Website,
Scouts New England (see above for URL's) and at:
http://www.scouter.com/compass/Where_To_Go/BSA_Camps/Vermont/
The
main Boy Scout facility is the Mt Norris Scout Reservation in Eden VT.
This is also the site for the New Frontiers Horizons Camp. New Frontiers
has a separate website at:
http://gmc-frontiers.freeyellow.com/
The
primary Cub Scout camp for the council is at Camp Sunrise in Benson VT.
Info on this camp can be found at:
http://www.geocities.com/campsunrise2002/index.html
To see all of the unit websites within this council visit:
Net_Roster/Boy_Scouts_of_America/Councils/council.asp?cid=342
The author
maintains the links at NetRoster,
Scout
Camp Database and the ScoutCamp.org
for South Carolina. For corrections contact him at BigEd@usscouts.org
Where
would you like the staff at the Scouting E-Zine to take you next,
write us at info@honorpub.com
and tell us which state's history you want to
read about in our next issue!