Scouting in Tennessee
Encyclopedia
Scouting in Tennessee has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.
Until 1974, some southern councils of the Boy Scouts of America were racially segregated. (The Old Hickory council did not integrate until 1974.) Colored Troops, as they were officially known, were given little support from some Districts and Councils. Some Scouting executives and leaders believed that Colored Scouts and Leaders would be less able to live up to the ideals of the Boy Scouts.
Most Girl Scouts of the USA
units were originally segregated
by race according to state and local laws and customs. In 1924, Josephine Groves then working at a shelter for African-American mothers and families in need in Nashville heard about Girl Scouting and attended a training course for leaders. She brought scouting back to the girls at the shelter; however, none of this was official since both she and they were African-American. She married, becoming Josephine Groves Holloway, and left her job at the shelter but continue to encourage scouting. In 1933 she requested recognition for her troop from the local council; it was refused until 1942 when permission for the first official African-American Girl Scout troop in Tennessee was given. She also help fully desegregate the Cumberland Valley council in 1962.
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and Georgia
, with the council office located in Chattanooga, Tennessee
. Active from 1914, programs offered include: Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venture, Exploring and Learning for Life. The council's Skymont Scout Reservation provides year-round and summer camping opportunities on the Cumberland Plateau
.
The council is divided into five districts:
with over 2400 acres (9.7 km²) on the edge of the Cumberland Mountains Plateau, Skymont hosts Boy Scout summer camps, Cub Scout family camps and high adventure activities throughout the summer and other camps during the year. It is also home of the Talidandaganu' Lodge of the Order of the Arrow.
and fifteen counties in northwest Mississippi
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.
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Sequoyah Council Website
, Illinois
, and Tennessee.
Camp Mack Morris in Camden, Tennessee serves as the primary camping facility for the WTAC and has been in continuous operation since 1946.
for complete information. This council serves girls in Polk County, Tennessee
Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
Website: http://www.girlscoutsofgreateratlanta.org/
Girl Scout Council of Northwest Mississippi, Girl Scout Council of The Mid-South, and Reelfoot Girl Scout Council. It serves 16,500 girls and has 4,400 adult volunteers in west Tennessee, north Mississippi and Crittenden County, Arkansas.
Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee
Website: http://www.girlscoutshs.org/
Camps:
for full information. This council serves Tennessee girls in northern Claiborne County.
Headquarters: Lexington, Kentucky
Website: http://www.gswrc.org
Council covering 20 counties in Tennessee and southern Kentucky. In 2006 a new realignment led to the current larger council.
Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee
Web Site: http://www.gsmidtn.org
Camps:
Johnson City, Tennessee
Web Site: http://www.girlscoutsappalachian.org
Camps:
Knoxville, Tennessee
Web Site: http://www.tanasi.org
Camps:
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Web Site: http://www.mbgsc.org
Camps:
Early history (1910-1950)
In 1917 the first girl scout troops in Nashville and elsewhere in Tennessee began meeting. In 1922 Knox County received a charter. In 1926 the Nashville Girl Scout Council was chartered.Until 1974, some southern councils of the Boy Scouts of America were racially segregated. (The Old Hickory council did not integrate until 1974.) Colored Troops, as they were officially known, were given little support from some Districts and Councils. Some Scouting executives and leaders believed that Colored Scouts and Leaders would be less able to live up to the ideals of the Boy Scouts.
Most Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the USA
The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...
units were originally segregated
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
by race according to state and local laws and customs. In 1924, Josephine Groves then working at a shelter for African-American mothers and families in need in Nashville heard about Girl Scouting and attended a training course for leaders. She brought scouting back to the girls at the shelter; however, none of this was official since both she and they were African-American. She married, becoming Josephine Groves Holloway, and left her job at the shelter but continue to encourage scouting. In 1933 she requested recognition for her troop from the local council; it was refused until 1942 when permission for the first official African-American Girl Scout troop in Tennessee was given. She also help fully desegregate the Cumberland Valley council in 1962.
Boy Scouting in Tennessee today
There are seven BSA local councils in TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
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Cherokee Area Council
The Cherokee Area Council serves Scouts in TennesseeTennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, with the council office located in Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
. Active from 1914, programs offered include: Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Venture, Exploring and Learning for Life. The council's Skymont Scout Reservation provides year-round and summer camping opportunities on the Cumberland Plateau
Cumberland Plateau
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia . The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer to the...
.
The council is divided into five districts:
Camps
Skymont Scout Reservationwith over 2400 acres (9.7 km²) on the edge of the Cumberland Mountains Plateau, Skymont hosts Boy Scout summer camps, Cub Scout family camps and high adventure activities throughout the summer and other camps during the year. It is also home of the Talidandaganu' Lodge of the Order of the Arrow.
Chickasaw Council
Chickasaw Council serves Scouts in Shelby County, as well as a single county in eastern ArkansasArkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and fifteen counties in northwest Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
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Great Smoky Mountain Council
The Great Smoky Mountain Council serves 21 East Tennessee counties, and is headquartered in Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
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Middle Tennessee Council
Middle Tennessee Council Web Site- Black Fox District http://www.blackfoxdistrict.org
- Buffalo River District
- Cherokee District
- Cogioba District
- Dan Beard District http://www.danbearddistrict.org
- Davy Crockett District
- Duck River District
- Elk River District
- Exploring District
- Hermitage District
- Highland Rim District
- James E. West District
- Nashboro District
- Natchez Trace District
- Trail of Tears District
- Upper Cumberland District
- Warioto District
Sequoyah Council
Sequoyah Council serves Scouts in Northeast Tennessee and VirginiaVirginia
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...
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Sequoyah Council Website
- Breaks District
- Buffalo Mountain District
- Lonesome Pine District
- Nolachuckey District
- Ocanosta District
- Pellissippi District
- Warriors Path District
Shawnee Trails Council
Shawnee Trails Council serves Scouts in KentuckyKentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and Tennessee.
West Tennessee Area Council
- Big Hatchie District
- Central District
- Davy Crockett District
- Bedford ForrestNathan Bedford ForrestNathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
District - Shiloh District
Camp Mack Morris in Camden, Tennessee serves as the primary camping facility for the WTAC and has been in continuous operation since 1946.
Girl Scouting in Tennessee today
There are seven Girl Scout councils serving Tennessee though three will merge in the near future.Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta
See Scouting in GeorgiaScouting in Georgia
Scouting in Georgia has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live. The state is home to many milestones for the Scouting movement...
for complete information. This council serves girls in Polk County, Tennessee
Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
Website: http://www.girlscoutsofgreateratlanta.org/
Girl Scouts Heart of the South
Girl Scouts Heart of the South was established on June 1, 2008 by the merger of Girl Scouts of Northeast Mississippi,Girl Scout Council of Northwest Mississippi, Girl Scout Council of The Mid-South, and Reelfoot Girl Scout Council. It serves 16,500 girls and has 4,400 adult volunteers in west Tennessee, north Mississippi and Crittenden County, Arkansas.
Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
Website: http://www.girlscoutshs.org/
Camps:
- Kamp Kiwani is 1250 acres (5.1 km²) including a 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) lake in Middleton, TN
- Camp Tik-A-Witha is 270 acres (1.1 km²) in Chickasaw County, MS
- Camp Cedar Point in Grenada, MS
- Camp Annemeekee is 104 acre (0.42087344 km²) near Randolph, TNRandolph, TennesseeRandolph is an unincorporated rural community in Tipton County, Tennessee, United States, located on the banks of the Mississippi River. Randolph was founded in the 1820s and in 1827, the Randolph Post office was established. In the 1830s, the town became an early center of river commerce in West...
- Camp Fisherville is 72 acres (291,373.9 m²) northeast of Collierville, TN
- Girl Scout Program/Training Center in Memphis, TN
Girl Scouts of Kentucky's Wilderness Road Council
See Scouting in KentuckyScouting in Kentucky
Scouting in Kentucky has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live...
for full information. This council serves Tennessee girls in northern Claiborne County.
Headquarters: Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
Website: http://www.gswrc.org
Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee
Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee serves nearly 14,000 girls and has 7,000 adult volunteers in 39 Tennessee counties. Nashville had its first troop in 1917 and Nashville Girl Scout Council was chartered in 1926. In 1958 a reorganization led to Cumberland Valley Girl ScoutCouncil covering 20 counties in Tennessee and southern Kentucky. In 2006 a new realignment led to the current larger council.
Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
Web Site: http://www.gsmidtn.org
Camps:
- Camp Holloway is 76 acres (307,561.4 m²) in Millersville, TN and established in 1951 as a camp for "Negro girl scouts"; it now serves all girls. It is named for Josephine Holloway who founded the first official African-American Girl Scout troop in Nashville in 1942 (some 18 years after establishing one unofficially and 9 years after first seeking official permission).http://www.gsmidtn.org/page.cfm?pid=96http://www.gscm.org/girlsonly/FamousGirlScouts.html
- Camp Nee Kah Nah is 354 acres (1.4 km²) in Gainsboro, TN. Its name derives from "friendship crossing" in CherokeeCherokeeThe Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
. - Camp Piedmont is 29 acres (117,358.9 m²) in Murfreesboro, TN.
- Camp Sycamore Hills is 742 acres (3 km²) in Ashland City, TN. It was established in 1959.
Proposed Girl Scout Council of the Southern Appalachians
This new council is a merger of three councils planned for October 2009.Girl Scouts of the Appalachian Council
Girl Scouts of the Appalachian Council serves more than 6,000 girls in Tennessee and Virginia.Johnson City, Tennessee
Web Site: http://www.girlscoutsappalachian.org
Camps:
- Camp Wildwood in Johnson City, TN
- Camp Sky-Wa-Mo in Bluff City, TN
- Camp Windy Knob in Greenville, TN
- Warren-Kelly Memorial Center for Girls("The Hut") in Big Stone Gap, VA
Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council
Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council serves some 13,000 girls in 16 counties in east Tennessee.Knoxville, Tennessee
Web Site: http://www.tanasi.org
Camps:
- Camp Tanasi is 450 acres (1.8 km²) on Norris Lake near Andersonville
Girl Scouts of Moccasin Bend Council
Girl Scouts of Moccasin Bend Council serves 6,600 girls in Tennessee and Georgia.Chattanooga, Tennessee
Web Site: http://www.mbgsc.org
Camps:
- Camp Adahi is 900 acres (3.6 km²) on Lookout MountainLookout Mountainthumb|right|See seven statesLookout Mountain is located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southern border of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain, along with Sand Mountain to the northwest, makes up a large portion of the...
. It was acquired in 1965.
Scouting museums in Tennessee
- The Girl Scout Museum at Daisy’s Place, Girl Scouts of Tanasi Council Office, Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, TennesseeFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
- Peregrine International Museum of Scouting