NORTH FLORIDA COUNCIL 1939 - present (Jacksonville) |
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formerly GREATER JACKSONVILLE COUNCIL, 1926 - 1939
formerly DUVAL COUNTY COUNCIL, 1925 - 1926 formerly JACKSONVILLE COUNCIL, 1918 - 1924 |
last updated 4/13/26
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merged with OCKLAWAHA COUNCIL 1924 - 1935 (GAINESVILLE)
merged with OSCEOLA COUNCIL 1927 - 1928 (ST. AUGUSTINE)
KNOWN CAMPS, PROPERTIES, AND CAMP PROGRAM NAMES
"THE CAMP AT YELLOW BLUFF" (Jacksonville Council) 1920 TO 1921
The first Boy Scout camp in northern Florida was property borrowed from Mrs. Maude de Long Norton, north of Jacksonville, near the area of Eulalia. A newspaper article description from July 1920 "the site is on a bluff covered with pines and big oak trees overlooking he beautiful St. Johns River." Access to the camp was either by car, by foot, or by boat. Most weeks of camp had almost 100 attendees, with a full program of hiking, aquatics, and Scoutcraft. An article in 1921 reports "one of the features of this year's camp; will be the awarding of camp emblems to those who qualify in the certain events and stunts and prizes will be awarded for the tents that pass the best inspection."
CAMP ECHOCKOTEE, also BOY SCOUT CAMP, also E-CHOCK-O-TEE, also NORTH FLORIDA COUNCIL CAMPS, also ECHOCKOTEE AQUATICS CAMP, also ST. JOHNS RIVER BASE AT CAMP ECHOCKOTEE (Jacksonville Council, Greater Jacksonville Council, North Florida Council) 1922 to present
This property, located in Orange Park, was the summer camp for the council from 1922 to 1967, and then a venue for weekend camping, training, and day camping. Jacksonville Council acquired what had been previously known as the "Washington property" in June 1922, for $11,000, and put it to use for the first summer camp season one month later. The name used for the property was simply called "Boy Scout Camp", until 1927. A contest was held for a new name, the entry from Gardner Gillette, "E-Chock-O-Tee" was chosen as the winner (hyphens were removed the following year). The last year for summer camp was held in 1967. Originally a tract of 118 acres, parts of the property have been sold, but the entirety could not be sold, due to the conditions of the deed. Summer aquatic programs began in the early 1980s, becoming ECHOCKOTEE AQUATICS CAMP in the early 1990s. The camp was rebranded as ST. JOHNS RIVER BASE AT CAMP ECHOCKOTEE in the early 2010s.
CAMP FRANCIS, also CAMP CHARLES FRANCIS (Greater Jacksonville Council, North Florida Council) 1924 to present |
This camp property is owned by the Camp Francis Trust and is operated by North Florida Council. The camp is located in Interlachen, about twelve miles from Baden-Powell Scout Reservation. The camp was made available by Mr. Charles Francis in 1924, to the Ocklawaha Council in Gainesville, and was later put in a trust for the use of Putnam County Scouts. The property is still operated as a primitive weekend camping venue, with one bathroom facility and no other buildings.
CAMP LINCOLN (Segregated Scout Camp) (Greater Jacksonville Council, North Florida Council) 1931 to 1953
Camp Lincoln was a Segregated Scout Camp (SSC) program in North Florida Council. From 1931 to the late 1930s, the program was held at the Lincoln Country Club, in northwest Jacksonville. The program moved to a location known as Camp Berlin, near the current site of the Dames Point Bridge, on the north bank of the St. Johns River. By 1945, the program had outgrown the Berlin location and relocated to a 79-acre property in southeastern Jacksonville off of Phillips Highway (US 1), in the community of Greenland. In 1952, the Duval County Health Department declared the site to be unfit, and the Camp Lincoln program for 1952 and 1953 was held in Paradise Park, a segregated campground in Silver Springs, as North Florida Council searched for a new property.
CAMP COACOOCHEE (Segregated Scout Camp), 1953 to 1967; later renamed CAMP FRANCIS JOHNSON, 1968 to 1978.
Camp Coacoochee was a council-owned property located outside Orange Park, several miles from Camp Echockotee. The 219-acre site was donated by Francis Johnson, a scion of the Skinner Dairy family and benefactor to North Florida Council and several other youth causes. Summer camp programs were held at the property beginning in 1954. During the rest of the year, the segregated council division would use the site for camporees and for training programs, and it was also used by the local Girl Scouts. The last segregated summer camp program held there was in 1966. After desegregation of the BSA and North Florida Council, the facility was renamed after Francis Johnson. Almost all of the property was sold in 1979, now occupied by the Foxridge housing subdivision, with several acres still owned by the council as a conservation easement. One of the roads leading into the subdivision is still called Camp Francis Johnson Road.
BADEN-POWELL SCOUT RESERVATION - CAMP SHANDS 1964 to present
Located near Melrose and Hawthorne, Baden-Powell Scout Reservation was acquired by North Florida Council in 1964. Baden-Powell opened as a summer camp in 1967. Within the property itself are two designated camp venues: Camp Shands, which has been fully developed as the camp for long-term programs, and an undeveloped area called Camp Davis. Alongside summer camp programs, Winter Camp (long-term camp held between Christmas and New Year's Day) has been held since 2007.
A patch for "Camp Osceola" has often been referred to as a North Florida camp. "Camp Osceola" was the name of a camp program run in the late 1950s by Troop 85 of Lake City, Florida, held a nearby O'Leno State Park. Rev James Montgomery, the Scoutmaster at the time, created the patches for his troop. This is not a council camp.