https://1drv.ms/b/s!Araoxwn4t5TqrE1-SMCex3HSvzV_?e=4Dlfob
The camp sat on US Forrest property along Tionesta lake which was formed when the Tionesta valley was flooded .
The camp was abandoned and forgotten and a big lie as usual was told everyone why they closed it.
They aid Government would not renew lease . This was a lie they would renew lease but a 10 year lease which Allegheny Trails council did not want to commit to since they had land donated and where building a big new camp heritage in Farmington Pa. where all the council big wigs could stay with there family's in nice homes and they could send their ids for the summer. Yea I remember seeing all the slides of the new plans and construction. Went to camp one time and never been back I was so disappointed in what I saw we went from rugged wilderness based camps to standard public summer camp. Our troop no longer in business refused to stay there .
Scratch above is how I remember the camps layout .
The water front at bottom was the Tionesta Lake which was actually part of the abandoned Pa Route 62 when it was rerouted to build the lake and dam to help protect Pittsburgh from floods
and it had miles of trails to explore a natural breeding trout stream as well. They offered an overnight Bivouac trip where you went across the lake on canoes and camped however our troop never did it.
Its a shame today's scouts will never know about this camp and its great times and what a rugged wilderness type camp was really like.
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| Old even then Writing stationary they gave us to write home |
I remember great times a Tionesta spending three summer camps including two Boot & Paddles. Was told it was closed because it was located on Public Land and Church Groups demanded equal access. BSA had to end lease or share with non-Scouting Groups. This explanation seemed plausible and never heard anything similar to your version. After Tionesta closed our troop 464 started backpacking the Appalachian trail which was an equally great wilderness experience. Over two years hiked most of PA, WV and VA. We trained all year with multiple 5,10 and 20 miles hikes to prove proficiency required to attend the summer trip to the AP. Had great leadership in our troop and never looked back on the past and always created the highest level of Scouting experience. The older Scouts mentored the younger “Tenderfoots”... Saw your post about not revealing your Eagle Scout status...Always proud to be an ES and never flinched to admit this accomplishment. Would not want to work for anyone who did not appreciate the honor.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless you and hope you can find closure with the past.
I worked for the council in the mid/late 70's and again in the mid/late 80's. I was told Heritage Reservation was built in part because the state wanted considerable improvements to the camp to extend the lease and then instead of 10 year leases it was going to be a year to year. If true, that was just not an acceptable option so the council went on to construct Heritage.
DeleteMy sister passes it on the way to her cabin...Shame that it closed...
ReplyDeleteI share you're feelings lone eagle. I bragging about all the good times and everything we learned or tionesta. I think I'm going to explore it next spring .
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I kayaked to the beach area last month. The old camp road is in pretty bad shape but there is a campsite right at the end of it on the lake. Fairly easy walk up the road but very little remains of the camp. A few spots where the old latrines have settled in and that's about all.
DeleteTionesta was a great experience for me and my Scout friends......I was tapped for OA and had my ordeal there.....a truly amazing experience as the night time in the woods.....there was literally a torrential downpour..... all night long....lots of memories, I am now 69.....
ReplyDeleteKnow what? It rained all night on my OA tap out as well! I remember how those Indians whooped and hollered as they ran around the circle of a few hundred scouts with their flaming tourches. I will never forget it.
DeleteBest tap out ever! And it rained on my Ordeal in '64, too,so I guess that is a Tionesta tradition.
DeleteOddly, the song popped into my head for no reaason, and when I googled camp tionesta this was the first return. Wish I could remember all the words:
ReplyDelete"Tionesta land of golden dreams; rocky coves and something mountain streams.."
Tionesta, land of golden dreams,Rocky hills and Crystal mountain streams. On my honor brave and true, I will stand and take my path anew. On my honor I will do my best, to see the scouting spirit best, in every man, no matter where he may be...(something) out country. That's all I remember.
DeleteYou take a land with hills and whispering pines, rocky coasts and folks who are mighty, mighty fine, blend them in with boys of Scouting's aim and you'll follow on to greater fame.
DeleteTionesta, land of golden dreams, hiking trails and crystal mountain streams pledged to Scouting's spirit bold and true so let us stand and take our oath anew.
On my honor, I will do my best, duty bound to see that the Scouting's spirit's blessed every boy, no matter where he be as we follow on for God and Country.
Anawanna staff - '70, '71
Tionesta staff - '72, '73, '75, '76
Semiconon staff - '74
Thank you
DeleteI loved going there 72 - 74
I also remember the unofficial version of the song. But I remember troop 230 was awesome back then. Great memories of that camp and earning lots of merit badges
Crystal mountain stream
ReplyDeleteMuch like Unknown on April 4th 2019, something popped into my head and I just had to look on Google. Truly sad news. More than anything I loved about scouting was the camping and the weeks I spent at Tionesta Boy Scout Camp were my favorite. So many great memories.
ReplyDeleteScouts was a great experience for me. I regret that I did not complete my Eagle award. And I encourage Scouts not to give up. Camp Tionesta was the best. 5 summers I spent a week there. Did 1 boot @ paddle. I camp along Tionesta creek every summer to this day. It's my favorite place. Forever a Life
ReplyDeleteI'm like you, finished as Life with plenty of merit badges for Eagle, but hadnt yet developed the foresight, selflessness or maturity for that rank. I believe it was five summers I went to Tionesta, camped at Pine Grove and Silvertip, did my mile swim in that lake the summer after Agnes, when the high waterlines were visible 20' up on the trees. I learned how to persevere and overcome there. My best friend and I took first and second in the obstacle course against 500 others, just because of the joy of competing against each other. I remember standing at full attention during retreat, and those momentary escapes to the trading post for an ice cream. It was a huge part of my childhood, and really a huge part of my adulthood. For me, it's almost sacred ground and will stay with me until I die.
DeleteSo sad. I went to Tionesta in 1964 for SPL training and then for a week with my troop. I enjoyed the lake and the canoes the most. The following year I was on staff at Semiconon, so we had a friendly rivalry with Tionesta. Semiconon is now under Lake Arthur, so I hear.
ReplyDeleteOne of the best BSA camps in Pennsylvania. I got my lifeguard rating in the lake there. And received my Mile Swim award. My Troop 1031 made the canoe trip down to just above Pittsburgh, one of the best weeks of my life. Actually two weeks. One in camp and one on the river. I still have my canoe paddle, signed by all my friends. It was such a loss to close that camp, but the memories will never leave. It just a shame that no more generations will get them.
ReplyDeleteMy first visit to Camp Tionesta was about 1955-56 as a Cub Scout for a Fall weekend with our BS Troop 134 from New Kensington. Our BS Troop went to Tionesta most years in the 50s/60s.. loved living in those wall tents, campsites scattered through the woods. Then in 1960, I went up for a week of Senior Patrol Leader training before our troop week. That gave me an inside look at how the camp functioned and got to know some staff (college students mostly) and Camp Director Henry Krier? So, over that winter, I applied for a staff job and spent the summers of 61 & 62 working on the truck crew and trading post, living all summer in a wall tent. What a wonderful place!
ReplyDeleteSometime in the 80s I drove up there for a visit. Driving down thee big hill into Tionesta, I stopped at the dam visitor's center and talked to a Corp of Engineers staff, asking.. "are all the kids from Pittsburgh still filling up the camp all summer long?" He looked at me and said: "Every once in a while, one of you oldtimers shows up and asks the same thing. It hasn't been there for years." He explained that when the 25 year lease was expiring with the U.S. Forest Service, in order to renew, BSA was required to make some upgrades to meet "modern" standards. The cost was more than the Allegheny Council could afford. He explained that all man-made structures at the old camp had been removed in order to allow it all to go back to nature and the forest.
In the early 2000s, I drove back up there, parked at the entrance road barrier and walked down the old road to the main lodge and activity field site. Certainly the forest was growing up throughout the old camp. But, I walked all the old camp roads, being able to identify the campsites, and even the old ceremonial campfire site for OA, etc. A walk down to the lake was a bit disappointing.. it looked dead.. beautiful but dead. The ranger had told me that some of the big fish from early years had died off due to lack of oxygen in the lake.
Camp Tionesta was one of the best BSA camps ever.. and lives in the memories of those of us who were blessed to "live" there for brief periods. -Jerry Chandler, New Kensington
Jerry,
DeleteI was with 390 at St. Joe's in New Ken. Worked at all 3 of the camps in the '70s. I went from Waterfront to QM to B&P to Council Truck Driver. My dad, Joe Maloney, was the Camp Director at Tionesta from '72 until it closed in '77.
I had hoped to visit the camp a few years but the "Lane" off German Hill Road was posted, I believe 5 times, NO TRESPASSING. I'm thinking of hiking in from the dam this summer. Any clue how far in it is?
I spent 6 years in troop 139 Arnold. First trip to camp Tionesta was either the summer of 67 or 68. I camp along Tionesta creek a few weekends every summer. I'd like to find the old camp but don't know the road in and don't want to end up on private property.
ReplyDeleteI've wondered if anything was left of it.
Our Scout troop from Beaver Falls went there in the 50's. The one experience I remember had to do with swimming. I didn't know how. The counselor told me you will be able to swim when you leave here. We went down to the boat dock and he tied a rope around my chest and said jump in. He would hold me up and tell me what to do while walking along the dock. He was right, I learned to swim. I'm now 80 years and still remember what a great adventure it was to go Camp Tionesta.
ReplyDeleteI tried to find Camp Tionesta several years ago when on a trip to PA, no luck, and nobody knew anything about it. Even the scout headquarters knew nothing. I tried to find something on line when I got home but no luck. Then today I found this site. I camped there several times in the 1950's, but took a job one summer working in the kitchen. I loved it except for having to get up early to cook and feed the troops. I am so sorry that boys today can't experience what we did. I didn't know you, Vince, but I was from Beaver Falls as well, up on Patterson Twp. Troop 224 rings a bell but I don't remember if that was my troop. Larry Long [email protected]
ReplyDeleteIn remember a few trips to Camp Tionesta beginning back in about 1955 and went there a few years til we switched to Cape Semiconon where I worked as a counsellor in 1958 and 59. A lot of really good memories or those camps (both closed). My Troop was in Carnegie, PA. I believe the Council was Allegheny. I remember the Council offices in Pgh. I made Eagle in 1959. I have 2 sons - both Eagle Scouts who were raised in suburban Chicago. The camp they went to is also gone. Many great memories Commenting under my wife's name - so don't get confused. Politics and greed should not be in Scouting - unfortunately, it is.
ReplyDeleteAfter 45 years, decided to try and find the old Boy Scout camp at Lake Tionesta. First thing everyone needs to realize is that Lake Tionesta is a boat to camp site access lake. There are no roads in. Unless you are on an ATV perhaps. So if you hike from the bathroom at the boat loading area, you will first encounter a 60 degree grade hill that will easily make you want to turn around. I did the first time cause I was with a group and they were not ready for that. This time it was myself. Long story short, in 5 1/2 hours, I made it from the damn to the other side of the lake, where it becomes a creek, and back. It was NOT easy. On the way, I found what I believed to be my first tent site. I was there two summers and a third for Boot and Paddle. But I wanted to be sure so I keep going. On my way back, I got lost on an ATV trail but due to the large ravines, ended up on the right side of the mountain behind where most of the sites were. I was able to piece everything together. I started at the boat dock/swimming area, went past two of my former camp sites, past the Trading Post - where I used to buy snake bite sodas. But I still questioned whether I had the right place. Then I get 3/4 of the way to the top of the road and remember the open field. The field couldn't have any old growth in it since it was cleared 40 years ago and there it was on the left. I could even image where I stood say, Hello Scouter and hearing the cannon go off. That brought everything together. So if you are in for a hike, I would probably try to find where the old ingress road terminates since it is used for ATV's now and go that route. But the map above is dead on. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteAfter 45 years, decided to try and find the old Boy Scout camp at Lake Tionesta. First thing everyone needs to realize is that Lake Tionesta is a boat to camp site access lake. There are no roads in. Unless you are on an ATV perhaps. So if you hike from the bathroom at the boat loading area, you will first encounter a 60 degree grade hill that will easily make you want to turn around. I did the first time cause I was with a group and they were not ready for that. This time it was myself. Long story short, in 5 1/2 hours, I made it from the damn to the other side of the lake, where it becomes a creek, and back. It was NOT easy. On the way, I found what I believed to be my first tent site. I was there two summers and a third for Boot and Paddle. But I wanted to be sure so I keep going. On my way back, I got lost on an ATV trail but due to the large ravines, ended up on the right side of the mountain behind where most of the sites were. I was able to piece everything together. I started at the boat dock/swimming area, went past two of my former camp sites, past the Trading Post - where I used to buy snake bite sodas. But I still questioned whether I had the right place. Then I get 3/4 of the way to the top of the road and remember the open field. The field couldn't have any old growth in it since it was cleared 40 years ago and there it was on the left. I could even image where I stood say, Hello Scouter and hearing the cannon go off. That brought everything together. So if you are in for a hike, I would probably try to find where the old ingress road terminates since it is used for ATV's now and go that route. But the map above is dead on. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteAfter 45 years, decided to try and find the old Boy Scout camp at Lake Tionesta. First thing everyone needs to realize is that Lake Tionesta is a boat to camp site access lake. There are no roads in. Unless you are on an ATV perhaps. So if you hike from the bathroom at the boat loading area, you will first encounter a 60 degree grade hill that will easily make you want to turn around. I did the first time cause I was with a group and they were not ready for that. This time it was myself. Long story short, in 5 1/2 hours, I made it from the damn to the other side of the lake, where it becomes a creek, and back. It was NOT easy. On the way, I found what I believed to be my first tent site. I was there two summers and a third for Boot and Paddle. But I wanted to be sure so I keep going. On my way back, I got lost on an ATV trail but due to the large ravines, ended up on the right side of the mountain behind where most of the sites were. I was able to piece everything together. I started at the boat dock/swimming area, went past two of my former camp sites, past the Trading Post - where I used to buy snake bite sodas. But I still questioned whether I had the right place. Then I get 3/4 of the way to the top of the road and remember the open field. The field couldn't have any old growth in it since it was cleared 40 years ago and there it was on the left. I could even image where I stood say, Hello Scouter and hearing the cannon go off. That brought everything together. So if you are in for a hike, I would probably try to find where the old ingress road terminates since it is used for ATV's now and go that route. But the map above is dead on. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteAs a Scout in Troop 233 from Whitehall, PA, I was there in '63. '64, and '65, did the Boot & Paddle to Pittsburgh and had a great OA tap-out and ordeal in '64, Scout Lifeguard, Mile Swim across the lake, et al, and did the SPL week in '65. After the SPL week they asked me to stay as a waterfront CIT (already Eagle with Lifeguard, and was briefly the camp bugler), but they couldn't pay me because I was only 13 and I turned them down. I have many great memories of those times, and it is always sad to see those places fade away. I am happy to say that I am still active in Scouts and have held most unit, district, and council jobs, staffed five Jamborees and three Wood Badge courses, and been to all the high adventure bases several times. And I started a girl troop a few years ago. Scouting is still the best character training for youth! Scout on, brothers. - Scouter Bob Owen, Bethesda, MD, National Capital Area Council
ReplyDeleteHello Scouter Bob Owen, I was a camper at Tionesta Boy Scout Camp in the 60's from 1960 to 1962. I was a counselor there 63, 64 and 65 and was the guide/counselor along with another counselor(we alternated trips) for the Boot and Paddle program in 64 I think. Not sure about the year. Wondering if we might have gone down the Alleghany River to Pittsburgh together. My name is James (Jim) Scott from troop 57 at Sheridan, Pittsburgh Pa. The troop no longer exists that I know of. Like you I had many great memories of those times at Tionesta Scout Camp... Yours in Scouting, Jim Scott.
DeleteI was an Eagle Scout, Troop 486, Hopewell Township, PA, and camped at Tionesta 1967 to 1970. I did “Boots and Paddles” down the Allegheny 1968 and 1970. I have written an article which details the founding, my experience, and the demise of the Camp. The article can be found on my personal OneDrive account at https://1drv.ms/b/s!Araoxwn4t5TqrE1-SMCex3HSvzV_?e=4Dlfob.
ReplyDeleteQuestions and comments would be appreciated.
I am seeking any photos from the camp that someone might be willing to scan and share; I’d be grateful. I can be reached at [email protected]