Birthplace of WWW Opens

The island on which Treasure Island Reservation is located has been the topic of several historical investigations to confirm the ownership and the state to which the island belongs.

In 1783, commissioners appointed by the legislatures of Pennsylvania and New Jersey entered into a treaty, one of the purposes of which was to allocate to each State the islands lying in the Delaware River north of the falls of Trenton. The treaty was ratified by both legislatures in 1783. The part of the treaty that speaks to the island known as Treasure Island was that each island was annexed to the State to which it was physically closest.

To determine the proximity of the islands to the closest State a surveyor was employed to make a survey of each island and therefore determine the State to which the Island belonged. Reading Howell did the survey in 1785. The result of the survey placed Treasure Island in New Jersey. The survey identified the island as “Ridge’s Island.” It was called Ridge’s Island because from June 10, 1790, when the first formal deed was registered for the ownership of the island, the Ridge family owned the island.

In 1907 the island was conveyed to Topliff Johnson. Mr. Johnson and his wife conveyed the island to Oscar G. Worman and his wife in 1915.

The Treasure Island Camp, later known as Treasure Island Scout Reservation officially opened as a Philadelphia Council camp in 1913 when the Council signed a lease with Mr. Worman for use of the island as a summer camp. Mr. Worman was the Scoutmaster of Troop 46 and brought his troop to the island for camping.

In 1913, there was just one building on the island. It was a huge barn that was transformed into the mess hall. The camp offered every outdoor activity available to Scouts - swimming, nature, crafts, cooking and camping skills. In 1913 the cost of camp was $3.50 per boy per week. Supper was served in the Mess Hall and the other meals were cooked in the campsites by patrols. Treasure Island Scout Reservation replaced Camp Pequea that was located on the Susquehanna River below Columbia, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Worman and his wife conveyed the island to the Philadelphia Council of the Boy Scouts of America by deed dated March 24, 1920. Philadelphia Council registered a deed for the island in 1920 that officially changed the name from Ridge’s Island. In that deed it was referred to as “Treasure (formerly known as Ridge’s) Island”.

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Treasure Island

Treasure Island Scout Camp (also known as Treasure Island Scout Reservation) opened as a Philadelphia Council summer camp in 1913. The name Treasure Island had come from the popular Robert Louis Stevenson pirate novel of the same name published in 1883. Philadelphia used the pirate motif on some of their early promotional material. Treasure Island would become the longest continuously run Scout camp in the BSA and most notably, the birthplace of the Order of the Arrow.

Philadelphia Council originally leased the island from Oscar Worman, a Scoutmaster of troop 46 and shifted its summer camp from Camp Pequea on the Susquehanna River to Treasure Island located in the middle of the Delaware River. Treasure Island was later conveyed to the Philadelphia Council.

The below testimonial is excerpted from C.A. Wiese recounting the Treasure Island Experience:

Once on the island you become immersed in a paradise of a pure Scouting environment. The waters that surround it assure an incomparable experience. The Delaware River is why the island exists water dictates the encounter. The waters can be deep and fast or shallow and telling. To begin the journey you cross this mighty river from mainland Pennsylvania to the softly rounded stones that make up the shores of the island. A carefully guided barge trip makes the impossible, attainable. For young and old the passage provides a long look at the island from a distance and hints at the promise that is soon to be delivered. Then, you are there upon those shores and the wonderment is all around you for the entire time that you abide.

The Philadelphia Council was proud of its new camp and pushed hard for the troops in the Council to attend Treasure Island Camp. The first year was successful as many troops came to the island camp to see what it was all about. One of those keenly interested was Scoutmaster E. Urner Goodman. Mr. Goodman brought his Troop One from the Tioga Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia for summer camp in both 1913 and 1914.

In 1915 Philadelphia Council appointed Field Commissioners E. Urner Goodman Camp Director and Carroll A. Edson Assistant Camp Director in charge of commissary. In that capacity they founded the Order of the Arrow and built the Council Fire Ceremonial Circle. Soon after the founding, Unami Lodge commenced construction and built a lodge house on the Island. In the early years of the camp every Scout did not receive a patch. Instead, a Scout could meet a challenging set of requirements of various types of Scoutcraft to earn a camp monogram. Earning a monogram was the camp equivalent to earning a varsity letter. It was meaningful and only the more skilled Scouts could earn it. The original monogram had the letters “TIS” for “Treasure Island Scout”. In the Mid-1920s the monogram was changed to “TIC” which stood for “Treasure Island Camper”. The OA was a program that complemented the camp monogram system by focusing on spirit, leadership and service instead of Scoutcraft skills.

Through the years, improvements were made to the camp including the construction of multiple buildings. Treasure Island Scout Reservation actually consisted of two islands. Treasure Island is connected to, Marshall Island (also known as Eagle Island) by a small bridge. Marshall Island is where the rifle and archery ranges were located. By a quirk of geography, Marshall Island is slightly closer to Pennsylvania than it is to New Jersey. The ranges were located there because Pennsylvania gun laws were less stringent than New Jersey.

Treasure Island was the site for a portion of the first Grand Lodge Meeting in 1921, the 10^th anniversary Grand Lodge Meeting in 1925 and the 1936 National Lodge Meeting. The camp hosted numerous Area and Section conclaves and hosted the 50^th anniversary dedication in 1965. In 1996 the Philadelphia Council merged with Valley Forge Council and became the Cradle of Liberty Council.

Unfortunately, the Delaware River, the singular feature that creates the uniqueness of the Treasure Island summer camp experience has proven to be the cause of the camp’s demise. Through the years there have been major floods that have inundated Treasure Island. Floods over the millennia are what created Treasure Island. Floods impacted the camp in the 1930s and 1950s (the flood of 1955 in particular). Then in the 2000s three so called “hundred year floods” occurred in 2004, 2005 and 2006. The camp was fully repaired, but the Cradle of Liberty Council still had millions of dollars of maintenance and repairs required for electrical and sanitation. And even if the money could be raised, there would be the risk of it all being wiped out again.

Treasure Island has not reopened since the 2008 summer camp season. Volunteers maintain the camp for the local council. Many still hope that the camp that Goodman watched over on that night in 1915 that he kept his vigil will one day serve Scouting again.

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Goodman Influenced - Story of Billy Clark

When the Treasure Island staff planned the first induction, Urner Goodman had one Scout in mind as the model of cheerful service he wanted for its members - Billy Clark.  Billy was a member of Philadelphia's Troop 1, led by Scoutmaster Goodman and is listed in their records as an “Assistant Scribe.” Years later Goodman described a troop campout at Treasure Island.

One time during our stay there, one of our charges came with a minor sickness. There was no medicine, no hospital on the island at all. So he had to stay in his tent and he had to be taken care of. Billy volunteered to be our live-in nurse for the two or three days he had to be there. And he did a good job of it.

Came to a crisis however the next morning. It had rained during the night. Now, there is a vessel used in hospitals they call a bedpan.  And it was time to take that thing to the latrine and Billy, of course, cheerfully took on the assigned visit. However, in going from the tent to the latrine he had a little upset. It was the wrong kind of bath, to be put lightly. But Billy got up smiling from it all, if you can imagine. Now that's the picture of cheerful service.

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Goodman & Edson Camp Directors

In April of 1915, E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson both were hired by Philadelphia Council and entered Professional Scouting at the age of 23. Philadelphia Scout Executive Walter S. Cowing appointed them both as  Field Commissioners (now called Field Executives). The following month the Philadelphia Council Camp Committee appointed Goodman as Camp Director at Treasure Island Scout Reservation and Edson as his Assistant Camp Director in charge of commissary. Together they prepared for the coming camp season and in their capacity as Camp Director and Assistant Camp Director determined that a camp fraternity might be a good idea for the camp.

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WWW Founded

Goodman and Edson had explained their plans for the establishment of a camp honor society to camp leaders at Treasure Island.

The date of the first induction had been set, July 16, 1915. Two of the Troops on the island had held an election of members.  George Chapman described the event in The Arrow and the Vigil as follows:

Friday, July 16, 1915, dawned bright and fair. In addition to the heavy heat, which often hangs in the valley of the Delaware, there was something else in the air. It was an almost indescribable feeling of expectancy and mystery. Only a very few of those on the island had been taken into the confidence of Goodman and Edson and this was done only to have sufficient personnel to carry out the planned program. So while everyone on the island was aware that Friday night was the big night, few knew exactly what was to take place and all waited with interest and an enthusiasm which was difficult to control.

The day wore on slowly. Ordinary camp activities provided little interest and the camp chores and duties were carried out with a total lack of enthusiasm. By sundown the air was charged with a tense excitement. Something that was to be a vital factor in the lives of uncounted thousands of boys and men was about to be started. The importance of this undertaking was unconsciously exerting a strange influence on those that were present.

The first members were inducted in a manner somewhat differently from the way in which the Ordeal is conducted today. All of the campers, obviously non-members, were witnesses to the induction. As darkness fell, Harry Yoder, who acted as first guide, lined up the campers in single file. In dead silence the campers followed the guide by a circuitous route to the Council Fire.

The path led under a fallen tree and the Council Fire was so located that as the boys approached the fire they had no knowledge of it until they passed under the tree and the Council Fire was suddenly revealed.

At the first induction, and on subsequent inductions during the first year of Wimachtendienk, Urner Goodman served as Chief of the Fire and Carroll Edson served as Vice Chief of the Fire. Both were dressed in black robes, similar to an academic robe, which had been made by Mrs. Cooper, the wife of a neighboring farmer. The Chief wore on his robe the totem of the Unami Clan of the Lenni Lenape Indians, a turtle, superimposed on a triangle, which denoted leadership. The Vice Chief of the Fire wore on his robe a turtle without the triangle.

The first candidates to be inducted into the organization were Robert Craig and Gilpin Allen. Goodman and Edson had no formal induction into the Order as it was felt that this was not necessary.

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Ernest Thompson Seton

Ernest Thompson Seton was a Canadian naturalist, writer, and artist. He became very interested in studying wolves while working in Canada. Those experiences later became the basis for a number of animal fiction stories by Seton. Following his time in Canada, Seton moved to New York. When some local kids damaged some of his property, he invited them over for a weekend and taught them stories about nature and American Indians (as opposed to punishing them).

Seton created a youth group called the Woodcraft Indians in 1902; their program was based on American Indian culture and traditions. Seton wrote some articles for Ladies’ Home Journal that same year; these articles became the Woodcraft Handbook, and the Birch Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians. Baden-Powell was strongly influenced by Seton and borrowed a number of Seton’s ideas for his 1908 book Scouting for Boys.

In 1910, Seton helped to found the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Seton wrote the Official Handbook: A Handbook of Woodcraft, Scouting, and Life-craft (in which he relied greatly on Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys, as well as his own Birch Bark Roll), merged the Woodcraft Indians with the BSA, and served as the first Chief Scout of the BSA from 1910 to 1915. Seton made sure that American Indian culture had a significant role in the BSA.  American Indian culture also had an impact on the the founders of the Order of the Arrow.

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Daniel Carter Beard

Daniel Carter Beard, known to many in Scouts as “Uncle Dan” Beard, was an American illustrator and author. He illustrated several books for the famous author Mark Twain. He wrote numerous articles for St. Nicholas Magazine that he later put together as The American Boys Handy Book. He was a good friend with Ernest Thompson Seton, future Chief Scout of the BSA.

In 1905, Beard founded the Sons of Daniel Boone, which used many American frontier skills as their activities. This group later merged into the Boy Scouts of America when it formed in 1910. Dan Beard was named one of the original National Scout Commissioners and held that position for over 30 years before his death in 1941. Beard and Seton are largely responsible for what is known as the “Traditional Scouting” movement (the BSA Cub Scout and Boy Scout programs, however, the term also applies to the basic outdoor skills and activities central to Scouting). Beard also served as editor of Boy’s Life, and wrote a regular column for youth in the magazine.

Dan Beard passed away on June 11, 1941. E. Urner Goodman was selected out of the national office to be in charge of the funeral. An estimated 2,000 plus Scouts lined the funeral route.

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Scouting Founded

Lord Robert Baden-Powell was born in London on February 22, 1857. As a child, he already had an interest in many of the skills that would become associated with Scouting. At times, he would skip class to go spend time in the woods tracking and trapping animals. In 1876, he joined the British army as a career officer. At various times, he was stationed in South Africa, where he improved the Scouting skills of his youth. He frequently enjoyed leading scouting missions into enemy territory. A few years later, he wrote Aids to Scouting to help train military reconnaissance recruits. His most notable service was during the Second Boer War (1899-1902), which saw Baden-Powell command a force holding the town of Mafeking; the siege lasted 217 days. When his force was relieved, he was declared a British hero and promoted to Major General. When he returned to Britain, he found that his book Aids to Scouting had become very popular with teachers and youth groups.

Following his involvement with the Boys’ Brigade, Baden-Powell set out to rewrite Aids to Scouting for civilian use. While doing this, he set up a camp for 22 boys on Brownsea Island in August of 1907 to test his scouting ideas (including the patrol method). The next year, Scouting for Boys was published. The book was very popular upon release, and became one of the best-selling books in history. While Baden-Powell had hoped established groups would apply the knowledge, groups called Scout troops started springing up across Great Britain. Many requested assistance from Baden-Powell. By accident, the Scouting movement had begun.

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Goodman - Pre-WWW

On May 15, 1891, George R. Goodman and Ella Dora Jacobs Goodman of Philadelphia had a son. They named him Edward Urner, for grandfathers Edward Jacobs and George Urner Goodman. Ella Dora died when Urner was three, and he and his father, together with little sister Marjorie, lived with his grandparents Goodman and his three single aunts for several years.

Aunt Helen served as the children’s foster mother. Urner entered first grade at age six, but soon developed diphtheria, so contagious that he had to be quarantined in a hospital for many months. During that time, Aunt Helen passed away, and Aunt Clara took over the children’s care.

In 1898 the family moved to a country suburb, where Urner learned to love the outdoors, playing outside and walking to a nearby farm for milk. In 1903 his father married Emma L. Gross, a schoolteacher who had traveled part of the way to her first job in the Dakota territory by covered wagon, and the family moved back into central Philadelphia.

Urner – “Goodie” to his friends – was a good student, and attended the prestigious Central High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he enjoyed drafting, writing, music, poetry, long walks and a few close friends, with whom he founded the Sextette Literary Club. His family was religious, and he spent a great deal of time at Tioga Presbyterian Church, not only for worship but also social activities, including a young men’s club, the Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip, of which he became a leader.

He attended the Philadelphia School of Pedagogy and became a teacher in 1913, taking graduate courses at Temple University. He also served as secretary of the Boys’ Work Committee of the Men and Religion Forward Movement in Philadelphia.

Tioga Presbyterian Church sponsored a troop of the new Boy Scouts of America, and in April 1911 Scouts Gilson M. Talmadge and Boyd Johnson, who learned of Urner from his work at church, visited Urner’s home and invited him to join as a leader. He soon became unofficial Scoutmaster, receiving an appointment from the council just after his 21^st birthday in May 1912.

The troop was the most fun thing in town, featuring a first aid corps, a band and a “police squad” with weekly meetings and monthly campouts. By 1915, the troop had grown to almost 100 Scouts under his leadership. In May of 1915, he accepted the council’s invitation to become a professional Scouter.

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BSA Founded

In 1909, Chicago publisher William D. Boyce was visiting London, and as legend has it, lost his way in a dense London fog. A boy came to his aid and, after guiding the man, refused a tip, explaining that as a Scout he would not take a tip for doing a Good Turn. It is known that Boyce was assisted by a Scout and found his way to the Scout headquarters where he bought a copy of “Scouting for Boys”. This gesture by an unknown Scout inspired the philanthropic Boyce to help finance the start-up of the BSA.

On February 8, 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia. From that day forth, Scouts have celebrated February 8 as the birthday of Scouting in the United States.

On June 21, 1910, 34 national representatives of boys’ work agencies met in a temporary national headquarters in a YMCA office in New York City and developed organizational plans. Many people and organizations actually helped get the BSA going, but the more notable founders of Scouting are: William D. Boyce, as the coordinator and incorporator, Ernest Thompson Seton (started Woodcraft Indians in 1902) as the “Chief Scout”, Daniel Carter Beard (founder of Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905) and the first National Scout Commissioner, James E. West, the first Chief Scout Executive and President William Howard Taft as the first Honorary President.

The BSA's stated purpose at its incorporation in 1910 was,

to teach [boys] patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred values.

Later, in 1937, Deputy Chief Scout Executive George J. Fisher expressed the BSA's mission;

Each generation as it comes to maturity has no more important duty than that of teaching high ideals and proper behavior to the generation which follows.

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