Scouting in Tennessee

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.^{[citation needed]}

Early history (1910-1950)

The boy scouts were chartered in Tennessee in 1910. Until 1974, some Tennessee 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.

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.^[1]^[2]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.^[1]^[3]

Boy Scouting in Tennessee today

There are seven BSA local councils in Tennessee.

Cherokee Area Council

The Cherokee Area Council serves Scouts in Tennessee and Georgia, with the council office located in Chattanooga, Tennessee.^[4] 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.^[5]

The council is divided into five districts:^[4]

Camps

Skymont Scout Reservation , which consists of over 2,400 acres (9.7 km²) on the edge of the Cumberland Mountains Plateau, hosts Boy Scout summer camps, Cub Scout family camps and high adventure activities throughout the summer and other camps during the year.^[5] It is also home of the Talidandaganu' Lodge of the Order of the Arrow.^[6]

Chickasaw Council

Chickasaw Council serves Scouts in Shelby County, as well as a single county in eastern Arkansas and fifteen counties in northwest Mississippi.

Great Smoky Mountain Council

The Great Smoky Mountain Council serves 21 East Tennessee counties, and is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Middle Tennessee Council

^[7]

Middle Tennessee Council Web Site

Black Fox District [1]
Buffalo River District
Cherokee District
Cogioba District
Dan Beard District
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
Walton Trail District

Sequoyah Council

The Sequoyah Council serves Scouts in Northeast Tennessee and Virginia.

Organization

Breaks District
Buffalo Mountain District
Nolachuckey District
Overmountain District
Wilderness Road District

Camp

Sequoyah Council has its own summer camp called "Camp Davy Crockett", just outside Rogersville, TN. It was founded in 1972.

Lincoln Heritage Council

Lincoln Heritage Council serves Scouts in Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and the community of South Fulton, Tennessee (located in Obion County).

West Tennessee Area Council

Big Hatchie District
Central District
Davy Crockett District
Bedford Forrest 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. It is also the home of Ittawamba Lodge 235 of the Order of the Arrow.^[8]

Girl Scouting in Tennessee today

Girl Scouts of the USA council map with service centers and camps for the state of Tennessee

There are four Girl Scout councils serving Tennessee.

Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta

See Scouting in Georgia for complete information. This council serves girls in Polk County, Tennessee

Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia

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 6,000 girls and has 2,000 adult volunteers in west Tennessee, north Mississippi and Crittenden County, Arkansas.^[9]

Headquarters: Memphis, Tennessee

Camps:

Kamp Kiwani is 1,250 acres (510 ha) including a 70-acre (28 ha) lake in Middleton, Tennessee^[10]
Camp Tik-A-Witha is 310 acres (130 ha) with a 20 acres (8.1 ha) lake in Van Vleet, Chickasaw County, Mississippi next to the Tombigbee National Forest.^[11]
Camp Fisherville is 72 acres (29 ha) in Fisherville, Tennessee^[12]
Girl Scout Program/Training Center in Memphis, Tennessee

Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee

Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee serves over 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 Scout Council covering 20 counties in Tennessee and southern Kentucky. In 2006 a new realignment led to the current larger council.^[13]

Headquarters: Nashville, Tennessee