The Golden Spread Council is a local council 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 ...

and serves youth in the panhandles of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Its service area includes all or part of 23 counties in Texas and three counties in Oklahoma. Through 2010, the council served approximately 5,300 youth members and 1,700 adult leaders.

History

The council was formed in 1987 from the consolidation of the Llano Estacado Council (#562) (based in Amarillo, TX) and the Adobe Walls Council (#569) (based in

Pampa, TX Pampa (from the Quechua: ''pampa'', meaning "plain") is a city in Gray County, Texas, United States. Its population was 16,867 as of the 2020 census. Pampa is the county seat of Gray County and is the principal city of the Pampa micropolitan ...

Organization

* Golden Eagle District * Lone Wolf District * Quanah Parker District * Adobe Walls District

Camps

The Golden Spread Council owns and operates two camp properties, Camp Don Harrington in Canyon, Texas; and Camp M.K. Brown by Wheeler, Texas. These facilities offer a wide range of camping, hiking and outdoor opportunities, including: miles of hiking trails, ponds and lakes, open fields, rustic camp sites, sheltered camp sites, tent camping sites, and a dining hall with restroom facilities.

Camp Don Harrington

Camp Don Harrington, commonly referred to as Camp Don, is an

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

camp in Randall County near

Canyon, Texas Canyon is a city in, and the county seat of, Randall County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,836 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Amarillo, Texas, metropolitan statistical area. Canyon is the home of West Texas A&M University and ...

. The original were donated by oil man and investor Don Harrington on December 25, 1945. In 1994, Sybil Harrington, Don Harrington's wife, donated the money to refurbish the camp with repaving the roads, refurbishing the health lodge, a new quartermaster building, and building the new Cub Scout World.

Geography

Camp Don Harrington is located in the western

Palo Duro Canyon Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo and Canyon, Texas, Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an ...

system on the Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River, south of

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

and northeast of

with an elevation of above sea level. It has a semi-arid temperate steppe climate, with the average summer high temperature in the high 90s and average winter low temperature in the low 20s. The average yearly rainfall is 19.6 inches. The majority of camp sites and facilities are located inside the canyon. It is more rugged and forested than the surrounding prairie, creating a more desirable camping experience. A variety of plant and wildlife exist in the camp. The canyon floor is spotted with

yucca ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flo ...

, mesquite,

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

, and other prairie grasses and shrubs. Closer to the river, one can find larger trees and even a bamboo stand. Wildlife in the camp include

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecologica ...

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

prairie dog Prairie dogs (genus ''Cynomys'') are herbivorous burrowing ground squirrels native to the grasslands of North America. Within the genus are five species: black-tailed, white-tailed, Gunnison's, Utah, and Mexican prairie dogs. In Mexico, p ...

s, rattlesnakes (no bites reported in many years), and a wide array of insects.

Facilities and Programs

Camp Don Harrington has 18 permanent campsites available year-round, each with a cleared area, a fire ring, running water (except during winter months) and a latrine. An

earth-fill dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

has been erected on the river forming a small pond suitable for fishing, boating and canoeing. Permanent structures include a dining hall with kitchen, swimming pools, first aid station, administrative building, quartermasters shed, trading post, Campmaster's quarters (with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, full bath, and living room) and ranger's house. The camp has an archery range, rifle range, shotgun range, and an council ring. A COPE area includes a ropes course and a climbing wall with a zip line. A newer addition is a four element "Cub World" with a pirate ship, fort, castle, and tee-pee. The Camp is used for weekend camping by nearby units. It also holds annual

merit badge Merit badge may refer to: *Merit badge (Boy Scouts of America) *Merit badge (Scouting Ireland) See also * Military awards and decorations * Scout badge Scout badges are worn on the uniforms of members of Scouting organisations across the worl ...

summer camps and winter camps and

Cub Scout Cub Scouts, Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with Scouting for young children usually between 7 and 12, depending on the organization to which they belong. A participant in the program is called a Cub. A group of Cubs is called a 'P ...

day camp. Order of the Arrow activities take place there along with Wood Badge training.

Camp M.K. Brown

Camp M.K. Brown covers a section of land near Wheeler, TX, and contains a 65-acre lake. It was built in 1968 with the generous donations from Montagu Kingsmill Brown, for which the camp is named.

Geography

Camp M.K. Brown is located 35 miles East of Pampa, Texas and 5 miles Northwest of Wheeler, Texas on Highway 152 in Wheeler County with an elevation of 2,526 feet above sea level. Sweetwater Creek runs South through the camp with multiple dams creating one large reservoir and four smaller ponds collectively known as Valley Springs Lakes. It has a semi-arid temperate steppe climate, with the average summer high temperature in the 90s and an average winter low temperature in the low 20s. The average yearly rainfall is 22 inches. The camp is heavily wooded with huge, old cottonwood trees. There are pear trees, wild plum shrubs, mulberry trees, and blackberry bushes located around the camp closer to the creek. Plant life away from the water is the usual yucca, mesquite, cactus, and prairie grasses local to the area. Wildlife includes turtle, rabbit, prairie dogs, coyotes, bobcat, deer, and pit vipers like rattlesnakes and water moccasins.

Programs and Facilities

Camp M.K. Brown has 11 permanent campsites and 3 semi-permanent campsites available year-round, each with cleared areas and a fire ring. Most have running water (except during winter months) and a latrine nearby. The main lake is suitable for fishing, canoeing, row boating, and swimming. The swimming area is marked off from the end of the main dock to the shoreline. The ponds are suitable for fishing only. Permanent structures include a dining hall with kitchen, nature and crafts building, administrative building, Trading Post, adult showers, and a ranger's house. The camp has an archery range, rifle range, shotgun range, and a council ring. The camp is used for weekend camping by nearby units. It also holds annual merit badge summer camps, camporees, and Cub Scout day camp. Order of the Arrow activities take place there along with Wood Badge and other youth training events.

Order of the Arrow

Nischa Achowalogen Lodge #486

Chapters

* Busy Beaver * Cherokee * Iron Horse * Zulu

References

{{Scouting Local councils of the Boy Scouts of America Randall County, Texas Southern Region (Boy Scouts of America) 1987 establishments in Texas