National Capital Area Council
Encyclopedia
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
and serves Scouts in the Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
and Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. NCAC is a local council under the Northeast Region
Northeast Region (Boy Scouts of America)
Northeast Region is one of the four administrative regions of the Boy Scouts of America. It covers the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont and parts of Virginia, as well as the District of...
.
Organization
The National Capital Area Council is divided into the following districts, by state:- District of Columbia
- Washington, DC District—formerly Benjamin Bannekar and Horizon districts.
- Maryland - council headquarters are in Bethesda, MarylandBethesda, MarylandBethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
- Appalachian Trail District—Mt Airy, Middletown, New Market, Urbana and Frederick City South
- Catoctin Mountain District—Emmitsburg, Frederick City (North), Libertytown, Mt. Airy, Mt. Pleasant, New Market, Thurmont, Walkersville and Woodsboro
- Montgomery District—Montgomery County — formerly Black Hill, Crossroads, Forest Oak, Great Falls, Paint Branch and Rock Creek districts.
- Prince George's District—Prince George's County — formerly Enterprise, Indian Creek, and Tayac districts
- Western Shore District—Calvert and Saint Mary's Counties
- Zekiah District—Charles County
- Virginia
- Aquia District— Stafford County and Marine Corps Base Quantico
- Bull Run District— Western Prince William County
- Chain Bridge District— McLean and Arlington
- Colonial District— Alexandria and Eastern Fairfax County
- George Mason District— Fairfax City, Falls Church City, Vienna, Merrifield, Dunn Loring and Portions of Oakton
- Goose Creek District— Loudoun County
- Mattaponi District— Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, King George County, and Caroline County
- Occoquan District— Eastern Prince William County
- Old Dominion District— Falls Church, Annandale, Alexandria and Springfield
- Patriot District— Annandale, Burke, and Fairfax Station
- Piedmont District— Culpeper County and Fauquier County
- Powhatan District— Great Falls, Herndon, Reston, Chantilly, Oak Hill and Oakton
- Sully District— Southwest Fairfax County
Amangamek-Wipit Lodge
Amangamek-Wipit Lodge was granted its first Charter on March 12, 1952. The Lodge was originally chartered without a name or totem. In the fall of 1952, the Lodge co-founders, Jack A. Obermeyer (first Lodge Adviser) and Ralph Lutz, and other former OA members residing in the area, visited the various Troops in the Council to conduct elections. That fall, three separate Ordeals were held by Nentico, Blue Heron, and Nawakwa Lodges. By the time of the first Lodge Banquet on December 29, 1952, the lodge had 89 charter members (77 from the Ordeals and 12 from transfers). At the banquet, the first Lodge Chief, Robert L. Zink, was elected.In June 1953, the Lodge conducted its first Ordeal on its own. The Lodge name and totem were also adopted at this meeting. The totem selected was an arrow and the Washington monument superimposed on a shark's tooth. The monument stood vertically in the center of the tooth and the arrow bisected the monument at an angle pointing upward to the left. The shark's tooth was chosen for the Lodge name and the principal object in the totem because of the large number of sharks' teeth that were found along the Chesapeake shores of Camp Roosevelt, which served as the early home for the Lodge. The Indian version of the Lodge name, "Amanquemack," was obtained in a telephone conversation with a Delaware Indian language expert at the Smithsonian Institution. There was no word for 'shark' in the language, only 'large fish'; the 'tooth' part was assumed. The first Lodge patch appeared in October 1953.
On March 27, 1954, Nentico Lodge provided the first Brotherhood Ceremony for the Lodge at Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation in Harford County Maryland. The Lodge held its first Brotherhood Ceremony on its own later that August. The Lodge's first Vigil, Ralph P. Lutz, was inducted at the 1954 Area III-C Pow Wow held at Camp Rock Enon in May.
Sometime in November or December 1955, additional research was done on the lodge name. It was discovered that the word "Amanquemack" did not exist in the Delaware language and the name had been written down incorrectly in the original telephone conversation with the Smithsonian. The correct word for 'large fish' was "Amangamek" and the word for 'tooth' was "Wipit." The new lodge "Amangamek-Wipit," name first appeared in early 1956; it was probably adopted at the December 1955 Lodge Banquet.
The lodge was a charter member of old Area III-C and hosted the Area III-C Pow Wow in 1956 at Camp Roosevelt and in 1965 at Camp Wilson. In 1973, the Lodge was included in the area realignment and became an active member of Section SE-1. The lodge hosted the 1976 SE-1 Indian Seminar at Ft. Belvoir, VA, and the 1980 SE-1 Conclave at Camp Happyland, VA.
In January 1982, Amangamek-Wipit was among the five northern lodges split off to form Section SE-9. Later in May, these five lodges were transferred to the Northeast Region to form the new Section NE-6. In June 1988 three Pennsylvania Lodges joined NE-6; in June 1994 the section was re-named NE-4C. In July 2008 the Northeast Region was realigned with 12 sections in seven areas. Amangamek-Wipit was joined with the three other lodges situated south of the Mason-Dixon Line to become NE-6A. The lodge hosted section conclaves in 1985 at Camp Happyland, VA and in 1991 at Prince William National Forest, VA, for NE-6; and in 1996 at Camp Rock Enon, VA, and in 2003 at Goshen Scout Reservation, Goshen, VA, for NE-4C. In May 2009, Amangamek-Wipit will host the first section conclave for the new NE-6A at Camp William B. Snyder.
Since formation, Amangamek-Wipit Lodge has produced the 1999 National Vice Chief (Andrew S. Oh), the 1990 Northeast Region Chief (Matthew Hoag), the 2008 Northeast Region Chief (Patrick W. Rooney); two area chiefs and five vice chiefs; eleven section chiefs, six vice chiefs, eight secretaries, and one section adviser; two region OA Chairmen; six national OA Committeemen; one National OA Bulletin Editor; nineteen Distinguished Service Award recipients, eighty one Founder's' Awards, and 1,728 Vigil Honor recipients. The lodge has been recognized with three E. Urner Goodman National Camping Awards. In recent years, the lodge has consistently been the first or second largest lodge in the Order and has often achieved National Quality Lodge status.
Goshen Scout Reservation
Goshen Scout Reservation is a Boy Scout reservation designated to campingCamping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
, swimming, hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and other various activities. Goshen is home to six Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
resident summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
s located near Goshen, Virginia
Goshen, Virginia
Goshen is a town in Rockbridge County, Virginia, United States. The population was 406 at the 2000 census. The town is known amongst the Boy Scouts of America for hosting Goshen Scout Reservation, one of the largest Boy Scout camps in America....
, and is owned and operated by the National Capital Area Council. The camps are all built around Lake Merriwether.
Lake Merriweather was named for Marjorie Merriweather Post
Marjorie Merriweather Post
-External links:******...
, an ardent supporter of Scouting in the Washington, DC area. The individual camps bear the names of other significant individuals or corporations who supported National Capital scouting as well. Camp Marriott owes its name to the Marriott International
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...
hospitality corporation while Camp PMI refers to Parking Management Incorporated (better known as PMI), a large parking company in the DC Metro region.
Goshen first opened to Scouts of the National Capital Area Council in the summer of 1967. It today has six different camps with over 4000 acres (16.2 km²) of land.
Goshen borders portions of the George Washington National Forest
George Washington and Jefferson National Forests
The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests are U.S. National Forests that combine to form one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. They cover of land in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky...
and other state parks. The reservation is about a 45 minute drive southwest of Harrisonburg
Harrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
; and about a 30 minute drive northwest of Lexington
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
. The town of Goshen itself lies approximately 3 miles to the west of the reservation.
A common treat at the Goshen Scout Reservation is a fly-over by the US Air Force as pilots conduct mock bomb-runs on the Goshen Dam. Sighted planes include C-5 Galaxies, F-16 Falcons, F/A-18 Hornets, F-14 Tomcats, F-15 Eagles, and even a V-22 Osprey. The planes fly at exceptionally low altitude and are quite impressive.
A Goshen Boy Scout Reservation shirt is shown on the fictional character Kim Bauer
Kim Bauer
Kim Bauer is a fictional character played by Elisha Cuthbert on the television series 24. She is portrayed as the only daughter of the show's main character, Jack Bauer...
during season 1 of the hit drama 24.
Goshen Scout Reservation was considered one of the finalists as the location for future National Scout Jamborees, a National-supported High Adventure Base, or a National-supported Leadership Center.
Facilities
Within Goshen there are three Boy Scout camps, two Cub Scout camps, and one high adventureHigh adventure
High adventure is a type of outdoor experience. It typically is meant to include activities like backpacking, hiking, kayaking or canoeing. It may also include mountaineering, rock climbing, mountain biking, orienteering, hang gliding, paragliding and hot air ballooning.-High adventure in...
camp.
Camp Baird :Camp Baird is the base camp for the Lenhok'sin High Adventure program. Scouts can choose from a traditional backpacking trek, a Civil War week, a canoe trek, or a "COPE and Rope" trek. In a traditional trek scouts hike from outpost to outpost during the week and experience various activities with significance to history or high adventure sports. Scouts are on the trek from Monday morning to Friday afternoon. Throughout the week, crews may be found at the outposts, which are scattered around the reservation. LHA is recommended for scouts at or above the age of 13, and in decent physical condition. Crews should be well prepared for their week of backpacking and must have a minimum of two youth and two adults, no exceptions. Units with numbers above 14 may be split into two individually functioning crews, so if a crew intends to bring more scouts on Trail, plans should be made to bring more than two or three adults.
Camp Bowman :Camp Bowman is a camp for Boy Scouts and is differentiated from Camp Olmsted by the fact that Bowman scouts prepare their own meals using the patrol cooking method, rather than eating in a cafeteria setting. Camp Bowman is the only camp at the Goshen Scout Reservation that is run almost exclusively as a patrol cooking camp. Camp Bowman was the first camp to be built on the Goshen Scout Reservation hence their slogan, "Bowman, Bowman Number 1!" Camp Bowman is also the only camp to use its original camp sign, a source of pride for the camp staff. The camp is located directly across Lake Merriweather from Camp Olmsted.
Camp Bowman has a rich history of teaching Scouting values for over forty years. Various mementos can be found in the Admin Building, including gifts from several foreign staff members who were part of an international camp staff exchange program as well as staff neckerchiefs from early camp years. Every staff photo is on display, along with photos from the first year camp was open, as well as the medal given to every camper from the inaugural year.
Camp Bowman is the only camp in Virginia with an action archery course, where scouts participate in shooting at aerial, moving ground, field, and long distance targets. In addition, Bowman is the only camp on Goshen Scout Reservation with a rabbit clay trap on their shotgun range.
Camp Marriott :Camp Marriott is one of the seven camps on the Goshen Scout Reservation. Most scouts who attend during summer months are between the ages of 11 and 15. Camp Marriott is well known for being one of the few scout camps left that continues the tradition of patrol cooking. However, to create ease for the scouts, heater stack meals are prepared in the camp kitchen to be picked up and prepared by the scouts at their own separate campsites.
Camp Marriott contains twelve campsites. There are two rifle pavilions, a shotgun range, and one archery range. The waterfront area is one of the largest on the lake, with close proximity to the administration building. The Ecology area offers three separate teaching areas that immerse you in the outdoors, the Pan Zoological Park that is full of local flora and fauna, and a highly regarded nature trail. Camp Marriott has long running traditions, excellent program, physical layout, and a fair distance from Camp Post.
Camp Olmsted :
Named after General George H. Olmsted
George H. Olmsted
Major General George H. Olmsted was an American military officer and insurance executive.-Early life:...
, Camp Olmsted is unique among the Boy Scout camps on the lake in that it is the only one with a dining hall where troops and the staff take their meals. It also is the only camp on the lake with a Tech Center where technology related merit badges are taught. In addition to the Tech Center, the camp offers Shooting Sports, Handicraft, Ecology, Scoutcraft, Trailshead and Aquatics areas. A program that is unique to Camp Olmsted is the X-Pride program, which provides an opportunity for older scouts to participate in high-adventure activities while the younger scouts in their troop work on merit badges. X-pride scouts participate in activities such as rock climbing, GPS orienteering, and an overnight trip to Viewing Rock. In 2010, Olmsted introduced a new program area, Culturecraft, which focuses on Fine Arts Merit Badges such as Theater, Music, Art, Cinematography, Architecture, Sculpture, and Photography. The camp contains 20 camping sites, and one staff site. In addition, it is the only camp on the lake that offers over 60 merit badges; many of these not traditionally seen at a summer camp, such as Communications, Radio, and others in that sort of field. Olmsted is the largest camp in Goshen, not in amount of land, but number of scouts that attend and staff members.
Camp Ross :Camp Ross is one of two Webelos camps at Goshen Scout Reservations. It is one of the newest camps on the lake having been closed down sometime in the mid 1970's due to low attendance while it served as a boyscout camp. It was reopened in 1982 as a Webelos camp and has operated as such until present day. The camp currently has 11 campsites but was originally built with 12 one of which is now closed down due to poor drainage. The camp takes a quite a large area at the entrance to Lake Merriweather where it is fed by the Half Calf Pasture River.
The camp is the farthest one away from Camp Post. The campsites that the campers sleep in are arranged in arch formations around the central dining hall, staff site, shower house, and activity areas. The farthest site is site five which is about 3/4 of a mile walk from the center of camp. In the southwest corner of the camp there is a large white pine forest that was planted by scouts in the 1960s to reforest the area. Since the planting of the trees they have been logged at least once to thin out the underbrush. One can still follow the old logging road back into this area where it meets up with the Anderson trail which in turn goes all the way around the lake through all seven camps. The White Pine meets the lake at a very steep grade and one can look straight across and see the waterfront of Camp Marriot. Within the White Pine there is a cemetery containing four graves that date back to 1850's although it is quite overgrown it is of much interest to many staffers and used as a topic for ghost stories with the scouts. The camp has several activity areas for the Webelos scouts including Aquatics, Scoutcraft, Nature, Handicraft, Archery, and BB Gun Shooting.
Other camps :*Camp Post is the central administration area, home to several intercamp programs such as Project COPE
Project COPE
Project COPE is an acronym for Challenging Outdoor Personal Experience, a program in the Boy Scouts of America. It consists of different challenges for groups of scouts that involve teamwork and problem solving, or for individual scouts that test agility and individual skills...
. It includes a climbing tower and ropes course.
- Family Camp is a now unused camp which can be used upon request by individuals and groups. It is located almost directly across from Camp Ross waterfront and functions as the Camp Baird Waterfront as well as the Lenhok'sin Caving Outpost during the summer.
Camp William B. Snyder
Camp William B. Snyder is an 350 acres (1.4 km²) Cub ScoutCub Scout
A Cub Scout is a member of the section of the worldwide Scouting movement for young persons, mainly boys normally aged about 7 to 11. In some countries they are known by their original name of Wolf Cubs and are often referred to simply as Cubs. The movement is often referred to simply as Cubbing...
Camp
Campsite
A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. In British English a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this British English use of the word is synonymous with the...
in Prince William, Virginia
Prince William County, Virginia
-National protected areas:* Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge* Manassas National Battlefield Park* Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge* Prince William Forest Park-Government and politics:...
, owned by the National Capital Area Council of Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
. It is one of the largest Cub Scout Camps in the United States.
In 1994 Disney Incorporated originally bought extensive land in Haymarket Virginia for its Disney's America
Disney's America
Disney's America was a planned theme park that was to have been built by The Walt Disney Company in Haymarket, Virginia in the early 1990s. The park was to have been dedicated to the history of the United States; however, amid opposition from citizen's groups, the project was canceled in 1994.The...
theme park. Local resistance to the resort led to its end as a viable idea. However, Disney still owned the land. William B. Snyder, a local business man with ties to Boy Scouts convinced Disney to sell the property. Snyder, in turn, sold off most of the land to developers, except for the 350 acres (1.4 km²) that were donated to the National Capital Area Council.
Roughly 125 acre (0.5058575 km²) of the camp was bought by an environmental group that created a self-running reservoir to create a habitat for various local species and help rejuvenate the local waterways. After completion, the land and subsequent pond were donated back to Camp William B. Snyder provided that it be held in trust. This pond will be used for nature related activities, as well as fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and sailing.