View source for Scouting in Missouri

{{short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
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==Early history (1910-1950)==

According to William D. Murray, a charter member of the Executive Board of the [[Boy Scouts of America]] (BSA) when it incorporated on February 8, 1910, the first "Troop" to form in Missouri was formed by an Englishman in Sedalia, MO sometime in 1908 or 1909. In his 1937 book "The History of the Boy Scouts of America," he goes on to say that this man had even gone so far as to appoint field representatives in other states as well.

The 1938 National [[Order of the Arrow]] Lodge Meeting was held at [[Irondale, Missouri]].

==Boy Scouts of America in Missouri ==
[[File:Missouri BSA Councils.png|thumbnail|BSA Councils serving Missouri]]'''Scouting in Missouri''' has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day.

There are six BSA local councils in [[Missouri]].

===Great Rivers Council===
Great Rivers Council (653) is based in [[Columbia, Missouri]] and serves Scouts in 33 counties in Mid-Missouri. In 1971 Great Rivers Council merged with Lake of the Ozarks Council (314).

====Districts====
*'''Black Diamond''' is located in [[Randolph County, Missouri|Randolph]], [[Schuyler County, Missouri|Schuyler]], [[Sullivan County, Missouri|Sullivan]], [[Putnam County, Missouri|Putnam]], [[Adair County, Missouri|Adair]], [[Scotland County, Missouri|Scotland]], [[Knox County, Missouri|Knox]], [[Linn County, Missouri|Linn]], [[Macon County, Missouri|Macon]], and Western Shelby, counties.
*'''Boonslick''' is located in [[Boone County, Missouri|Boone]], [[Cooper County, Missouri|Cooper]] and [[Howard County, Missouri|Howard]] counties
*'''Five Rivers''' is located in [[Cole County, Missouri|Cole]], [[Osage County, Missouri|Osage]], [[Gasconade County, Missouri|Gasconade]] and [[Maries County, Missouri|Maries]] counties.
*'''Grand Prairie''' is located in [[Callaway County, Missouri|Callaway]], [[Audrain County, Missouri|Audrain]] and [[Montgomery County, Missouri|Montgomery]] counties.
*'''Kinderhook''' is located in [[Morgan County, Missouri|Morgan]], [[Moniteau County, Missouri|Moniteau]] and [[Camden County, Missouri|Camden]] counties.
*'''Mark Twain''' is located in [[Pike County, Missouri|Pike]], [[Ralls County, Missouri|Ralls]], [[Lewis County, Missouri|Lewis]], [[Monroe County, Missouri|Monroe]], [[Marion County, Missouri|Marion]] and Eastern [[Shelby County, Missouri|Shelby]] counties.
*'''Osage Trails''' is located in [[Chariton County, Missouri|Chariton]], [[Saline County, Missouri|Saline]], [[Pettis County, Missouri|Pettis]] and [[Benton County, Missouri|Benton]] counties.

====Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation====
[[File:Sinquefield_Invention_Lab_Sign.jpg|thumb|Entrance to the Sinquefield Invention Lab]]
The Council operates Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation, also known as Camp Hohn. Scouts BSA and Venturing Camps are offered at Hohn. The camp is available for year-round use by Scout units for a variety of activities.  
[[File:Program_building.jpg|thumb|Inside the Sinquefield Program Building]]

Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation is located on the Lake of the Ozarks Osage Arm at mile marker 44 near Laurie, Missouri.  The camp offers facilities and equipment available for unit use and the Kit Carson Trail, an eight-mile-long perimeter trail which winds through the hills and along the bluff overlooking the Lake. The Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation is home to the Sinquefield Invention Lab, Program Building and Welding/Blacksmithing Shop. The Sinquefield Invention Lab and Program Building was opened in May 2017, and is currently the only invention lab in the entire Boy Scouts of America. The Welding/Blacksmithing Shop opened in 2019. The facility has 9 labs: electronics & robotics, 2D design & woodworking, 3D modeling, blacksmithing, print & design, multimedia, leadership, business & ethics, and creativity. The Sinquefield Invention Lab and Program Building is used year-round as a merit-badge workshop, camping facility, and training center.

In addition, the Great Rivers Council has two mobile invention labs. These labs can be hooked onto a truck and taken anywhere in the council.

With the addition of the Sinquefield Invention Lab & Program Building, the Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation is currently the only Scouts BSA camp where scouts have access to an invention lab, a COPE/Climbing course, shooting sports, and a full aquatics program.

==== Camp Thunderbird ====
Started 1960 (based on its 50th-anniversary in 2010), now closed.

Located in Randolph County Latitude 39.542258 Longitude -92.3293471 on Lake Thunderbird.

* 547 acres 12 group campsites Platform tents provided.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Where To Go Camping -- Missouri BSA Camps Page 1 |url=http://local.pacbsa.org/oa/missouriBSA.html |access-date=2023-05-24 |website=local.pacbsa.org}}</ref>
* Dining Hall or Patrol Cooking 33 Merit Badges offered.

====Order of the Arrow====
The council is served by the Nampa Tsi lodge.

In 1971 Meta #216 and Po-E-Mo #426 merged. This merge took place after the Great Rivers Council merged with the Lake of the Ozark Council. The name Nampa-Tsi translated means "twin lodges."

There have been different designs for the lodge pocket flap. The original design of our lodge flap, by Vigil Honor James Quick, had an Osage (pronounced Oh-Song-Eh) Indian with a reservation hat, a coup staff, a flaming arrow, a lake and rivers, and two tepees. Some think that the hat was worn by the Osage Indian because they traded with settlers. This was not the case. The hats were taken as coup from pioneer settlers after they had been scalped.

====Sons of Daniel Boone====
Originally, the [[Sons of Daniel Boone]] was created by [[Daniel Carter Beard]] to encourage boys to go outdoors for recreation. This organization became the Boy Pioneers of America which merged with similar outdoor groups into the Boy Scouts of America in 1910.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Beard#ref984782, Encyclopedia Britannica, "Daniel Beard: American illustrator and author"]</ref> In 2006, the Sons of Daniel Boone reemerged as an honor camp society for Scouts and Scouters who have kept returning to Great Rivers Council Summer Camp.<ref>[https://grcbsa.orgBoy Scouts of America Great Rivers Council]</ref>

==== Invention Scouts ====
[[File:Invention-Scouts-logo_3D-Black-Logo-Inside_Fixed.png|thumb|Invention Scouts Logo|125x125px]]
Invention Scouts was founded in the Great Rivers Council in 2015 by Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield. It was founded as a Boy Scouts of America alternative to traditional STEM programs, which were too expensive and exclusive. The motto of Invention Scouts is "become an inventor and entrepreneur for life". The program is coeducational and is available to boys and girls aged 11–21. Scouts are exposed to cutting-edge equipment such as laser engravers, 3D printers, and CNC routers among others. Invention Scouts has its own ranks: Invention Scouts, Apprentice, Journeyman, & Master.

===Greater Saint Louis Area Council===
{{Main|Greater Saint Louis Area Council}}

===Heart of America Council===
{{Main|Heart of America Council}}
'''Heart of America Council''' has its headquarters in [[Kansas City, Missouri]], and serves Scouts in both Missouri and Kansas.  The Council has two sponsored camps, H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation and Theodore Naish Scout Reservation.  Bartle offers [[Mic-O-Say]] as an honor society, and Naish is home to the [[Tamegonit Lodge]] of the [[Order of the Arrow]].

===Mississippi Valley Council===

{{Main|Scouting in Illinois}}

'''Mississippi Valley Council''' is headquartered in [[Quincy, Illinois]], and is served by Black Hawk Lodge #67. This council serves Scouts in Illinois, Missouri and [[Iowa]].

===Ozark Trails Council===
{{Infobox WorldScouting
| image =Ozark Trails Council CSP.PNG
| name = Ozark Trails Council
| location = Springfield, MO
| country = United States
| f-date =1995
| chiefscouttitle = Council Scout Executive
| chiefscout =Travis Rubelee
| website = http://www.ozarktrailsbsa.org/
}}
'''Ozark Trails Council''' is based in Springfield, Missouri, and serves Scouts in Missouri and Kansas. Camps in the Ozark Trails Council include:

*Camp Arrowhead offers programs for all Scouts, from first-year Trailblazer to High Adventure. Camp Arrowhead is situated on approximately 650 beautiful wooded acres in the Ozark Mountains near Marshfield in southwest Missouri. The property features a lake, many miles of hiking trails, a stream, caves, a spring, and many examples of native Missouri flora and fauna.

Scouts camping at Camp Arrowhead may enjoy traditional outdoor Scouting activities – backpacking, hiking, fishing, swimming, archery and shooting – as well as more challenging “adventure” and “aquatics” programs. These include: a C.O.P.E. course, mountain biking, rappelling, canoeing, small-boat sailing and snorkeling.

*Cow Creek located on Table Rock Lake just south of Branson, Missouri. Cow Creek is available for unit camping. The property is winterized October 1 through April 15; during this time utility water will not be available.

==== Districts ====
*Blazing Trails District
*Frontier District
*Mo-Kan District
*Nih-Ka-Ga-Hah District
*Osage Hills District
*Pathfinder District
*River Trails District

====Camp Arrowhead====
'''Camp Arrowhead''' is in [[Marshfield, Missouri]] located in Southwest [[Missouri]].

The camp was started in 1924, and is the oldest continually operating Scouts BSA Camp west of the [[Mississippi River]].

Camp Arrowhead offers programs for all Scouts, from first-year Trailblazer to High Adventure. Camp Arrowhead is situated on approximately 650 beautiful wooded acres in the [[Ozark Mountains]] near Marshfield in southwest Missouri. The property features a lake, many miles of [[hiking]] trails, a stream, caves, a spring, and many examples of native Missouri flora and fauna. The camp was likely named for the county's Native American relics.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_webster.html | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624071608/http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/ramsay/ramsay_webster.html | archivedate=June 24, 2016 | url-status=live | title=Webster County Place Names, 1928–1945 | publisher=The State Historical Society of Missouri | accessdate=September 21, 2021}}</ref>

Scouts camping at Camp Arrowhead may enjoy traditional outdoor Scouting activities – [[Backpacking (wilderness)|backpacking]], hiking, [[fishing]], [[Human swimming|swimming]], [[archery]] and [[shooting]] – as well as more challenging “adventure” and “aquatics” programs. These include: a [[Project COPE|C.O.P.E. course]], [[mountain biking]], [[rappelling]], [[canoeing]], small-boat sailing and [[snorkeling]].

====Order of the Arrow====

The council is served by Wah-Sha-She Lodge #42 since 1995. Wah-Sha-She was formed from the merger of Osage Lodge #42 and Ni-Ka-Ga-Hah Lodge #91. Lodge #42 has had a strong presence in the Section, Region, and National level. It has hosted several conclaves at Camp Arrowhead and been home to many section officers.

Wah-She-She has participated in every NOAC since its formation and has sponsored several teams in dance, ceremony, and other competitions. At the 2015 NOAC, Wah-Sha-She Lodge took 1st in the basketball competition.

===Pony Express Council===

The '''Pony Express Council''' is based in [[Saint Joseph, Missouri]], and also serves Scouts in [[Kansas]].  The Council's summer camp is Camp Geiger, which is one of only two camps in the United States to offer Mic-O-Say rather than Order of the Arrow as the Scout honorary society.  In the late 1970s, Pony Express Executive Parvin Bishop started the first [[COPE (BSA)|Project C.O.P.E. program]] in the United States at the camp. {{source needed|date=October 2025}} After Bishop became Director of Program at the National Office, he expanded the program so that it became national.

*Crossed Arrows District
*Kanza District
*Ma-Has-Kah District
*Otoe District
*Robidoux District

====Camp Geiger====
[[File:CampGeiger.jpg|250px|thumb|]]
'''Camp Geiger''' is a [[Scouts BSA]] camp on the bluffs above the [[Missouri River]] two miles (3&nbsp;km) northwest of [[St. Joseph, Missouri]] in [[Andrew County, Missouri]] at {{Coord|39.835272|-94.874134}} used by the [[Scouting in Missouri#Pony Express Council|Pony Express Council]]. It is one of the only two scout camps including [[H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation]] in the United States to use [[Mic-O-Say]] rather than Order of the Arrow exclusively as its Scout honor society.  It was first camp in the United States to offer Project [[C.O.P.E.]]

The camp is named for Charles Geiger, a St. Joseph physician, who donated land from his boyhood home in 1930.  It replaced Camp Brinton at [[Agency, Missouri]] (named for W.E. Brinton who had loaned {{convert|30|acre|m2}} for the camp) which had been the Scout council's main summer camp since 1918.  Scouting executive [[H. Roe Bartle]] founded the Mic-O-Say organization at Camp Brinton in 1925 while serving as head of the Pony Express council.  Bartle was to found a Mic-O-Say chapter in [[Kansas City, Missouri]] when he was transferred to being head of the Heart of America chapter in Kansas City there in 1929.  However, the Kansas City chapter also includes Order of the Arrow in its offering at its [[Theodore Naish Scout Reservation|Camp Naish]] while having Mic-O-Say exclusively at its other camp—Camp Bartle.<ref>[http://www.ponyexpressbsa.org/Camping/BoyScoutCamp/History History of Camp Geiger - ponyexpressbsa.org - Retrieved August 31, 2009]</ref>

In 1930 Geiger announced the donation and in 1935 it opened with a Dining Hall made of native limestone.  In the 1950s, the council bought land higher on the bluffs and further to the north and a "new Camp Geiger" was begun with the bulk of the camp moved to the higher land in 1952.  The original swimming pool lower on the bluff was replaced in 1971 with a new pool on top of the bluff.<ref>[http://www.ponyexpressbsa.org/Camping/BoyScoutCamp/History History of Camp Geiger - ponyexpressbsa.org - Retrieved August 31, 2009]</ref>

In the late 1970s the Pony Express Council began Project COPE, which is aimed at encouraging teamwork, self-confidence, trust, leadership, communication, decision-making, and problem-solving.  It was championed by Pony Express Council Executive Parvin Bishop who expanded the program when he became Director of Program at the National Office.<ref>[http://usscouts.org/boyscouts/cope.asp C.O.P.E. - uscouts.org - Retrieved August 31, 2009]</ref>	

A new Dining Hall and Headquarters/Health Lodge buildings were built in 1992 after land was purchased on the road entering the camp.

==Girl Scouting in Missouri==
[[Image:Missouri-gsusa.svg|420px|right|Map of Girl Scout Councils in Missouri]]

Missouri has three Girl Scout councils.

===Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri===

Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri serves more than 43,000 girls and has
over 15,000 adult volunteers.

It was formed by merging Girl Scouts of The Becky Thatcher Area and
The Girl Scout Council of Greater Saint Louis in 2007.

Headquarters: [[St. Louis, Missouri]]

Camps:
*Camp Cedarledge is nearly {{convert|700|acre|ha}} near [[Pevely, Missouri]].  Originally an old farm acquired by the Girl Scouts in 1927 and later expanded.<ref>[http://www.campcedarledge.com/ The Unofficial Camp Cedarledge Website]{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312020600/http://www.campcedarledge.com/ |date=March 12, 2007}}</ref>
*Camp Fiddlecreek is {{convert|83|acre|ha}} near [[Labadie, Missouri]].
*Camp Tuckaho is {{convert|521|acre|ha}} near [[Troy, Missouri]].

===Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri===

Headquarters: [[Kansas City, Missouri]]

It was formed by a merger of Northeast Girl Scouts of Mid-Continent Council,
Girl Scouts of Kaw Valley Council (Kansas), and
Girl Scouts of the Midland Empire in 2007.  It serves about 23,000 girls and has about 8,000 adult volunteers.

Camps:
*Camp Daisy Hindman, founded in 1929, is {{convert|160|acre|ha}} in [[Dover, Kansas]] near Topeka.
*Camp Cutteru is near [[Junction City, Kansas]]
*Camp Timberlake was {{convert|72|acre|ha}} near [[Stilwell, Kansas]] and started in 1959. It was sold after the merger to private owners, although still offers scout camping by reservation with the new owners.
*Tongawood Program center is {{convert|80|acre|ha}} near [[Tonganoxie, Kansas]]
*Camp Oakledge is {{convert|410|acre|km2}} near [[Warsaw, Missouri]].  It specializes in aquatic activities and started in 1945.
*Camp Prairie Schooner is over {{convert|170|acre|ha}} near [[Kansas City, Missouri]] acquired in 1945.
*Winding River Camp is an equestrian camp of over {{convert|400|acre|ha}} near [[Dearborn, Missouri]]. It started in 1965.
*Camp Woodland is near [[Albany, Missouri]].  It became a Girl Scout camp in 1948.
*Warrensburg Little House is in [[Warrensburg, Missouri]]
*Camp ToKaVaCa is {{convert|80|acre|ha}} in [[Topeka, Kansas]]

===Girl Scouts of the Missouri Heartland===

Girl Scouts Missouri Heartland includes 67 counties in Missouri,
Kansas, and Oklahoma.  It serves over 9,000 girls and has over 4,000
adult volunteers.

It was formed by a merger of Girl Scouts&nbsp;— Cotton Boll Area Council,
Girl Scouts of Dogwood Trails Council,
Girl Scouts&nbsp;— Heart of Missouri Council,
Girl Scouts of Otahki Council, and
Girl Scout Council of The Ozark Area on October 1, 2008.

Headquarters: [[Springfield, Missouri]]

Service Centers:
*[[Cape Girardeau, Missouri]]
*[[Dexter, Missouri]]
*[[Jefferson City, Missouri]]
*[[Joplin, Missouri]]

Camps:
*Camp Friendship Fields is {{convert|53|acre|ha}} north of [[Pittsburg, Kansas]] (Crawford County, Kansas)
*Camp Latonka is on the shores of [[Lake Wappapello]] in [[Wayne County, Missouri]]
*Finbrooke Outdoor Center is {{convert|285|acre|ha}} near [[Rogersville, Missouri]] (Christian County)*Green Berry Acres is {{convert|4|acre|ha}} near the state capital, [[Jefferson City, Missouri]] (Cole County)
*Silver Meadows is {{convert|130|acre|ha}} near [[Columbia, Missouri]] (Boone County)

==Baden-Powell Service Association in Missouri==

Missouri is home to the [[Baden-Powell Service Association]]'s former Chief Commissioner, David Atchley. Atchley, an [[Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)|Eagle Scout]] in the [[Boy Scouts of America]], joined up in 2008, after being asked to leave his local [[Greater St. Louis Area Council]] after attempting to create a non-discrimination policy for the Cub Scout pack he was [[Cubmaster]] for. He started forming youth scouting sections for the BPSA based on other Traditional Scouting groups based in Canada and Great Britain. In 2009, Atchley became [[Scout Commissioner|Chief Commissioner]].<ref name=slpd>{{cite news|last1=Schremp Hahn|first1=Valerie|title=Baden-Powell Service Association brings inclusiveness to scouting|url=http://www.montereyherald.com/living/ci_22142468/baden-powell-service-association-brings-inclusiveness-scouting|access-date=13 January 2013|work=Monterey Herald|agency=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|date=6 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301175306/http://www.montereyherald.com/living/ci_22142468/baden-powell-service-association-brings-inclusiveness-scouting|archive-date=2014-03-01|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=stlbeacon>{{cite news|last1=Thakkar |first1=Neal |title=Take Five: David Atchley creates 'non-discriminatory' alternative to Boy Scouts |url=https://www.stlbeacon.org/?_escaped_fragment_=/content/26471/boys_scouts_alternative_081012#!/content/26471/boys_scouts_alternative_081012 |access-date=11 March 2014 |work=STL Beacon |date=14 August 2012 }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Atchley then chartered his own BPSA scout group in 2010 called 10th Daniel Boone (now defunct) in [[Washington, Missouri]]. He resigned his position as Chief Commissioner to Susan Pesznecker in August 2015.

Currently, the [[Baden-Powell Service Association]] has just one chartered scout group in Missouri, and that is in the [[St. Louis, Missouri]] area.<ref name="inclusive">{{cite web|last1=Phillips|first1=Camille|title=St. Louisans Plant Trees For Peace|url=http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/st-louisans-plant-trees-peace#stream/0|website=St. Louis Public Radio|access-date=5 October 2014}}</ref>  The BPSA is an inclusive, "back to basics" organization that welcomes boys and girls from 5 years of age through adulthood.

===66th Confluence===
{{Infobox WorldScouting
|name=66th Confluence BPSA
|image=
|type=council
|owner=
|headquarters=
|location=[[St. Louis, Missouri]] 
|country=United States
|coords=
|f-date=2012
|defunct=
|founders=Bridgett Wissinger, Jeffrey Kopp, Kathleen Carson, Karl Wulff, Jessica Saigh
|founder=
|members=54 (as of May 1, 2017)
|chiefscouttitle=Group Scoutmaster
|chiefscout=Colin Suchland
|chiefscouttitle2=Rover Scout Leader
|chiefscout2=Jeffrey Kopp
|chiefscouttitle3=Pathfinder Scoutmaster
|chiefscout3=David Mulcahy
|chiefscouttitle4=Timberwolf Pack Leader
|chiefscout4=Elke Overton
|chiefscouttitle5=Otter Raft Leader
|chiefscout5=Rebecca Durst
|website=http://www.66thconfluence.org/
}}

The 66th Confluence scout group was formed in November 2012 following a BPSA [[Baden-Powell's Scout training scheme|Brownsea Training Camp]] that took place September 14–16, 2012 at Klondike Park in [[Augusta, Missouri]]. Several of the newly received [[Rover Scout|Rover Squires]] from that training returned to St. Louis to begin the formation of the scout group, the ordinal "66" coming from the [[U.S. Route 66]] highway that once crossed St. Louis, as well as the [[confluence]] of the [[Missouri River|Missouri]] and [[Mississippi River]]s, which is also in St. Louis.<ref>{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.66thconfluence.org/|website=66th Confluence BPSA|access-date=2 May 2017}}</ref>

==References==
* {{cite web |url=http://www.kmzu.com/area-scout-leaders-named-in-perversion-files/ |title=Area Scout Leaders Named in 'Perversion Files' |date=19 October 2012 |website=www.KMZU.com |publisher=KMZU The Farm |access-date=7 December 2022}} 
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}

{{Scouting in the United States}}

[[Category:Youth organizations based in Missouri]]
[[Category:Scouting in the United States|Missouri]]
[[Category:Central Region (Boy Scouts of America)]]