| Owasippe consists of approximately 4,800 acres of woodland ideally suited for a summer camp environment. The original property for Owasippe, America’s first Scout camp, was donated to the Chicago Boy Scouts by the City of Whitehall. Since that time, there has been significant expansion and, in the past 20 years, a consolidation and liquidation of some of the property. In its heyday, Owasippe supported upwards of 10,000 boys and leaders during an eight-week camping program. In the early days, boys came as individuals to experience Owasippe’s charms. In the 1930s, a change was made to invite entire units to come to camp. Owasippe has played a central role in Scouting during its existence including having a number of Scouting’s early leaders as Camp Directors such as Daniel Carter Beard and E. Urner Goodman. Today the camp is made up of five section camps, numerous program outposts, and other significant maintenance and support facilities. A recent bio-essay of the camp performed by The Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org) determined that we have over 1,091 species of flora and fauna (373 animal and 718 plant) including 19 endangered or threatened species. These special residents include nesting pairs of Bald Eagles, Mississauga Rattlesnakes, Red-Shouldered Hawk, Common Loon, and Blanding’s Turtle. The property's current infrastructure includes a water plant, electrical system, LP gas and phone system. These systems are in reasonable shape but are in need of some short-term repairs. There is a significant network of service roads used to support the activities throughout the reservation. There are more than 200 buildings on the reservation, most of which are sanitary units in the campsites. Most campsites have running water, and many have hot and cold running water. |
