The council is administratively divided into three districts:
Diamond Rock District
Horseshoe Trail District
Octoraro District
History
The Chester County Council was charted by the Boy Scouts of America on January 17th, 1919. It was charged with overseeing scouting in Chester County under the leadership of Dr. Arthur A. Schuck, who later became the third Chief Scout Executive of Scouting America and who had previously been Deputy Chief Scout Executive under Dr. James West. The council spent much of its early years in the wake of the armistice ending World War I consolidating independent troops into the organization.[2]
In the 1920s, the council, under the leadership of Scout Executive Charles Heistand, underwent significant growth that resulted in the acquisition of a new Scout camp and the formation of its own Order of the Arrow lodge. Initially, Scouts attending summer camp were loaded up onto military trucks, and then shipped out to Camp Rothrock, the council's old summer camp property located near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The council longed for a camp closer to home, and in 1927 acquired the Reynolds Farm property on the Mason–Dixon line near Rising Sun, Maryland. The new camp, Camp Horseshoe, opened its doors in 1928 and the property was renamed Horseshoe Scout Reservation.[3]
Since the opening of the camp and the founding of the OA lodge in 1927, the council borders have gradually expanded, eventually extending down into Cecil County, Maryland. In 2021, the council established the Oscar Lasko Program, Activity & Resource Campus (PARC) in Exton, Pennsylvania and moved its headquarters to the building the same year.[4]
Chester County Council operates two camps, Camp Horseshoe and Camp John H. Ware 3rd. Together the camps constitute Horseshoe Scout Reservation. The council also maintains the Oscar Lasko Program, Activity & Resource Campus as its headquarters in Exton, Pennsylvania.[5]
Octoraro Lodge 22 is the Order of the Arrow lodge affiliated with Chester County Council.[6] The lodge, which takes its name from the Octoraro Creek that flows around Horseshoe Scout Reservation, uses the Canada goose as its "totem" or symbol.[7]
History
Octoraro Lodge was formed in 1926 under the leadership of Charles Heistand and Joseph Brinton. Heistand, the Council Executive, inquired about starting an Order of the Arrow lodge in the council, and contacted E. Urner Goodman, who was then serving as the National Chief. After a failed attempt to get Unami Lodge in Philadelphia to install its chartered members, Goodman himself conducted the first induction ceremony at Camp Hillsdale near West Chester. Heistand, Brinton, and several other members were inducted, and Octoraro Lodge became the twenty-second Order of the Arrow lodge.[8]
In 1946 members of the lodge traveled south to Norfolk, Virginia and inducted the first members of Blue Heron Lodge 349. Both lodges maintain a good relationship.[9]
Awards
The Centurion Award issued by Octoraro Lodge.
Octoraro Lodge bestows various awards upon its members. These include the Achgeketum Award, presented annually to an adult member for dedication to the lodge’s youth members, and the Wipinquoak Award, given to brothers for their lifetime of contributions to the lodge. Additionally, the Allouchsit Allogagan (or Might Servant) Award recognizes individuals whose service to the lodge has made a lasting impact, and the Chesimus Wulihan Award is presented to a new brother in the lodge who has demonstrated commitment to the lodge and the ideals of the order.[10]
As part of the Order of the Arrow’s centennial celebration in 2015, Octoraro 22 presented ten of its members with the Centurion Award, given to those who meaningfully contributed to the formation and improvement of the lodge.[11]
Notable people
Because of the council's history, members have gone onto higher office at the Area, Regional, and National levels of Scouting America. A list of those who served at the national level, or in public office, is listed below.
Bill Folger– President of the American Society For The Adoption Of The Metric System
Dick Vermeil– retired NFL coach and member of the council's executive board. His annual "Dick Vermeil Invitational" golf tournaments bring in over $1 million each year to help with council operations.
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