Camp Rock Enon

Camp Rock Enon
Camp logo on a patch
Owner	Shenandoah Area Council
Location	Gore, Virginia [1] : 411  at the base of Great North Mountain [2]
Camp Rock Enon Show map of USA Virginia West Virginia border Camp Rock Enon Show map of Shenandoah Valley Camp Rock Enon Show map of Northern Virginia Camp Rock Enon Show map of Virginia Camp Rock Enon Show map of the United States
Country	United States
Coordinates	39°12′51″N78°23′16″W / 39.2141313°N 78.3877145°W / 39.2141313; -78.3877145
Camp size	877 acres (3.55 km2) [3] : 11
Founded	1944 [4]
Website https://www.camprockenon.org
Scouting portal

Camp Rock Enon or CRE is a Boy Scouts of America resident summer camp for both younger and older youth with high adventure opportunities. The mineral springs of the area afforded the development of a resort in 1856. In 1944 the resort and most of the land began the conversion to youth development resources. The summer camp includes familiar outdoor programs like aquatics, camping, cooking, fishing, handicraft, and shooting sports, yet also includes less common programs like canyoneering, rappelling, rock climbing, scuba, space exploration, volleyball, white water rafting, and wilderness survival. The property includes 14 campsites that accommodate from 16 to 56 campers, as well as a dining hall that can serve 450.

History

Property in the mid to late 1800s

Most of the area history is wrapped around the four (alkaline, saline, chalybeate, and sulphuretted) types of mineral water springs that naturally occur on the land. ^{[5] : 868} The area was once called Capper Springs, named for area settler John Capper. ^{[6] : 57} William Marker bought the 942 acres (381 ha) in 1856 and built a hotel that survived the American Civil War. ^[7] On March 24, 1899 the Shenandoah Valley National Bank purchased the property for $3,500. ^{[8] : 9} During the summer of 1914 botanists found a wide variety of ferns on the property. ^[2] The idea that soaking in the spring water had medical value was likely a large part of the tourism. ^[9] In 1917 the Winchester and Western Railroad stopped at Rock Enon Springs. ^{[10] : 366} In 1944, when that healing idea was likely no longer generally accepted as true, the Glaize family sold the property to the Shenandoah Area Council who turned what was once a resort into a summer camp. ^[7] In 1944, Miller Lake was created by adding an earth dam across Laruel Run using equipment owned by the Federal Fish Hatchery in Leestown. ^{[11] : M4} In 1958 "walnut, chestnut and persimmon trees" were planted on the property. ^{[12] : 50} Today Rock Enon is accredited as both a Cub Scout resident camp and a Boy Scout camp. ^{[13] : 2}

Facilities

Each of the 14 campsites contains a bulletin board, campfire circle, cots, flag pole, latrine, pavilion, picnic tables, wash station, and either two person wall tents or Adirondack shelters. ^{[14] : 3  [3] : 6}

Poland Lodge dining hall, named for Shenandoah Area Council president Bonn A. Poland Sr. who spent weekends using a bulldozer to excavate Miller Lake, can accommodate 450 at a time. ^[15] The activities building dates back to at least 1989. ^{[16] : 307} While all Scout camps include some form of a health lodge, Rock Enon is one of the few that have a medical staff that includes a board certified physician. ^[17] The camp has a shower house for youth that can accommodate 350 campers and another for adults that can accommodate 100 campers each week. ^{[14] : 6} In 2013 the camp planned to add another shower house with commodes near the Molden Shooting Sports area. ^{[14] : 6} Other facilities include a handicraft lodge, trading post, and troop lodge. ^{[18] : M16}

In 2010, the Order of the Arrow worked more than 5,000 service hours at the camp. ^{[13] : 2}

See also

• Scouting in Maryland
• Scouting in Pennsylvania
• Scouting in Virginia
• Scouting in West Virginia

References

1. Couper, William (1952). History of the Shenandoah Valley, Volume 3. Lewis Historical.
2. Tuttle, Mary Louise (1915). "Fern Trips in Virginia". American Fern Journal. 5 (4): 108–113. doi:10.2307/1544094. JSTOR   1544094.
3. Lux, Brian (2011). "Administration Guide" (PDF). Camp Rock Enon. p. 16. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
4. 1944:
   "Scout Camp Site Near Winchester Given Approval". Washington Post. Feb 14, 1944.^: 5
   "Dam to Back Up Water For Scout Camp Lake". Washington Post. Feb 27, 1944.^: M4
5. Engelhard, G.P. (1902). The Standard medical directory of North America. p. 924.
6. Peale, Albert Charles (1886). Lists and Analyses of the Mineral Springs of the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp.  235.
7. Bell Jr., Stewart. Rock Enon Springs Records #1303. Winchester, VA, USA: Handley Regional Library. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
8. "Rock Enon Springs Sold: Property Purchased by Bank to Protect Deed of Trust". Washington Post. March 25, 1899.
9. Tourism:
   Bell Jr., Stewart. Rock Enon Springs Records #1303. Winchester, VA, USA: Handley Regional Library. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
   "The Movements of Officials". Washington Post. July 24, 1888.^: 2
   "At Rock Enon Springs Several Washingtonians Enjoy Vacations in Quiet Virginia Resort". Washington Post. No. Special. July 30, 1911.^: E1
10. Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to the Governor and General Assembly of Virginia. (1918).
11. "Dam to Back Up Water For Scout Camp Lake". Washington Post. Feb 27, 1944.
12. Annual Report, Volume 49. Northern Nut Growers Association. 1958.
13. "Stakeholder Report" (PDF). SAC. 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
14. Pennington, Mark (2013). Renew the Rustic Splendor Capital Projects 2013-2016 (PDF). Shenandoah Area Council. p. 6. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
15. Poland Lodge:
    McVey, John (February 17, 2015). "Longtime Boy Scouts supporter named 2015 Distinguished Citizen". Journal News. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
    Pennington, Mark (2013). Renew the Rustic Splendor Capital Projects 2013-2016 (PDF). Shenandoah Area Council. p. 6. Retrieved 27 February 2017.^: 4
16. Lowe, Elizabeth Snyder (1989). The Folks of Swan Pond. E.S. Lowe. p. 734.
17. Kemp, Dwight T. "Bone & Joint Specialists of Winchester, P.C." Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
18. "Scout Camp Plans". Washington Post. Mar 30, 1952.