Camp Baldwin (Oregon)

Last updated
Camp Baldwin
Owner Cascade Pacific Council
Location Dufur, Mount Hood
CountryUnited States
Coordinates 45°24′15″N121°25′29″W / 45.404082°N 121.424839°W / 45.404082; -121.424839
Camp size640 acres (260 ha)
Founded1947
Website
cpcscouting.org/project/camp-baldwin/
WikiProject Scouting fleur-de-lis dark.svg  Scouting portal

Camp Baldwin is a 640-acre Scouts BSA summer camp located east of Mount Hood near Dufur, Oregon.

Contents

Canoers enjoy Lake Hanel at Camp Baldwin Canoers on Lake Hanel.jpg
Canoers enjoy Lake Hanel at Camp Baldwin

History

Camp Baldwin owes its existence and its name to a 1928 land donation by Ellen Baldwin. Mrs. Baldwin offered 160 acres of land in Wasco County, Oregon to the Scouts, who accepted and named the future camp in her honor. [1]

The initial camp was built in 1947 on Ramsay Creek. In 1958, the U.S. Forest Service began construction of Dufur Valley Road through the camp property. [2] The camp was relocated across Dufur Valley Road in 1962 to a 320-acre site known as "The Dufur Mill." [3] That same year, the Scouts dammed Tamarack Creek to create the camp's iconcic Lake Hanel. [4]

Programs

Camp Baldwin hosts an organized camp for Scouts BSA youth and older Cub Scouts each summer and is available for Scout camping outside of summer camp. [5] It is also one end of the Cascade Pacific Council's semi-annual "Horse Trek"—a nine-day, 160-mile ride where Scouts and leaders relocate horses from Butte Creek Scout Ranch near Silverton, Oregon for the summer and return them to Butte Creek at the end of the summer. [6]

Location and geography

Camp Baldwin is located in the Mount Hood National Forest near the town of Dufur, Oregon. The camp is located at approximately 3,500 feet of elevation.

Deaths

17-year old camp staffer, Adam Clark of West Linn, Oregon, died on July 7, 1994 while giving a rock-climbing demonstration. The Eagle Scout unhooked from his safety line, lost his balance, and fell 70 feet to his death from Vulture Rocks. He was not wearing a helmet. [7] The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division cited the Cascade Pacific Council for safety violations and issued a $2,500 fine. The Clark family sued the council in 1997 for wrongful death, seeking $1.26 million in damages. [8]

See also

References

  1. "Wasco Boy Scouts Receive 160 Acres For Camp Purposes". Astoria Evening Budget. 1928-10-05. Offer by Mrs. Ellen Baldwin, Wasco county pioneer of 160 acres of timber land in the Mount Hood foothills to Boy Scouts of Wasco and adjacent counties for camp use in summer and winter has been accepted by members of the Mid-Columbia-Deschutes area council of the Scouts in quarterly session here.
  2. Easement Deed: Portland Area Council to U.S. Forest Service (PDF), vol. Deed Book 136, Wasco County, Oregon: Digital Research Room, 1958-02-24, p. 458, retrieved 2025-10-19
  3. "Council History". Cascade Pacific Council. Archived from the original on 2024-06-12. Retrieved 2025-10-19. 1947: The first Camp Baldwin was built on Ramsay Creek, west of Dufur. Later, in 1962, a new Camp Baldwin was built on 320 acreage [sic] known as "The Dufur Mill."
  4. Deed: Donna and William Hart to Portland Area Council (PDF), vol. Deed Book 146, Wasco County, Oregon: Digital Research Room, 1962-02-23, p. 106, retrieved 2025-10-19
  5. "Camp Baldwin". Cascade Pacific Council. Archived from the original on 2025-06-16. Retrieved 2025-10-19.
  6. "Living the Cowboy Dream". The Oregonian. Portland, OR. 1998-12-27.
  7. "Eagle Scout Falls to His Death During Climbing Demonstration". The Seattle Times. 1994-07-08.
  8. "Parents File Wrongful Death Suit Against Scouts". The Oregonian. Portland, OR. 1997-07-02.