Piney River Camp (1920)

Year(s) Operated: 1920
Location: Woodson, VA

Recognizing that establishing a summer camp program for local troops was key to the efficient delivery of the Boy Scout’s outdoor-based leadership and rank advancement program, Scout Executive Adam Jones Himmelsbach immediately began working to secure a site with camping committee members Frank Wood and Minor Davis.

For the summer of 1920, the trio settled upon a “wild and primitive location” near Alhambra along the Piney River approximately six miles upstream from the Nelson County community of Woodson. To access the camp, Scouts were directed to travel by car or train to Tye River, take the Virginia and Blue Ridge Railway to Woodson, and then a logging train into the mountains.Assistant Direct

or Lightfoot Scruggs joined Camp Director Himmelsbach in leading the five-week operation. At a cost of just seven dollars a week, Scouts had an array of activities within close proximity, including swimming and fishing in the Piney River, learning “practical woodcraft,” and day hikes to Spy Rock, Crabtree Falls, and The Priest. Camp facilities were Spartan; Army surplus pyramidal tents with wooden floors each held eight to twelve boys, a larger tent was used for dining, and a semi-permanent shack was used for a kitchen and storeroom.