Daniel Webster Council is a division of the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

that serves all of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

History

In 1912, two years after the Boy Scouts of America were founded in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the Manchester Council (#330), a volunteer-led council was organized. Initially there were only two troops, both of them chartered by the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. As

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

grew in popularity, three more makeshift and unrecognized councils sprang up in

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, Claremont, and

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. The council grew steadily and added a Scout Executive to its staff in 1919. On January 9, 1920, the Manchester Council was granted an official charter with the Boy Scouts of America. At that time, the council represented ten troops and 256 Scouts within Manchester, and 87 troops with a total of 1621 Scouts in New Hampshire. In 1925, the Manchester Council acquired Camp Manning in Gilmanton for use as a summer camp. While the Manchester Council grew rapidly, the rest of New Hampshire's Scouting program saw limited growth. On May 25, 1929, the Manchester Council was renamed the Daniel Webster Council (#330),and expanded to cover Scouting for the entire state. The new name was derived from New Hampshire statesman

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...

Organization

The Daniel Webster Council is divided into eight geographical districts: * Abnaki District * Arrowhead District * Historic District * Massabesic District * Mt Monadnock District * Sunapee District * Wannalancit District * Nutfield District- dissolved as of 1/1/2019 - Towns split between Historic, Arrowhead, and Massabesic Districts * Exploring Division

Camps

Griswold Scout Reservation

Griswold Scout Reservation Griswold Scout Reservation (GSR) is a reservation for Scouting located near Gilmanton Ironworks, New Hampshire, and operated by the Daniel Webster Council of the Boy Scouts of America. It comprises two camps, Hidden Valley Scout Camp and Camp Be ...

is a Scouting reservation located near Gilmanton Iron Works,

. There are two

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

s located within it: Hidden Valley Scout Camp and Camp Bell. Covering over of forest, lakes, and mountains, the Scout Reservation was first run by the Norumbega Council. In 1971, the Daniel Webster Council acquired what was then called the Hidden Valley Scout Reservation. In 2000, the camp acquired additional land, which it named Camp Bell, and the total reservation was renamed Griswold Hidden Valley Scout Reservation. Hidden Valley is run as a traditional Scout camp with full dining facilities and a wide variety of program areas and activities. Camp Bell is run with a higher emphasis on strengthening the Patrol Method. Campers do their own cooking in their sites, and participate in day-long activities as patrols. Camp Bell has a different variety of activities from Hidden Valley, including their "living history areas", and a different set of merit badges are available. The land currently used primarily by Camp Bell has been used as the homes of many other camps, most recently Camp Manning, which after being sold by the Daniel Webster Council to private owners, changed ownership several times and had previously existed as a camp run by various organization such as the

who called it Camp Leo. Camp Bell was named for a member of the council's executive board who was instrumental in reacquiring the property for the council.

Camp Carpenter

Camp Carpenter is the Cub Scout Summer camp located in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Hamp ...

. It has a dining hall, a swimming lake and ample tent space. It is also home to the Lawrence L. Lee Scouting Museum.

Unity Program Center

The Unity Program Center is a five-acre property with an indoor facility, an outdoor stage and camping and event areas located on Mica Mine Road in

Unity, New Hampshire Unity is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,518 at the 2020 census, down from 1,671 at the 2010 census. The town includes the villages of Unity, East Unity, Quaker City, and West Unity. History Prior ...

Passaconaway Lodge

The

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner G ...

is represented by the

Passaconaway Passaconaway was a 17th century sachem and later ''bashaba'' (chief of chiefs) of the Pennacook people in what is now southern New Hampshire in the United States, who was famous for his dealings with the Plimouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies. ...

Lodge #220. On June 10, 1942, the Passaconaway Lodge was organized at Camp Manning. 43 members were inducted that year. The totem of the lodge was chosen as the bear since the Native word ''Passaconaway'' means "the child of the bear". Election of the first lodge officers took place. The mission of this lodge is to fulfill the purpose of the Order of the Arrow as an integral part of the Boy Scouts of America through positive youth leadership under the guidance of selected, capable adults.

References

{{Scouting Local councils of the Boy Scouts of America 1920 establishments in the United States Youth organizations established in 1920 Northeast Region (Boy Scouts of America)