Camp Cachalot
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Camp Cachalot, officially styled the Cachalot Scout Reservation, is the only council-owned Boy Scout camp in the Narragansett Council, Boy Scouts of America.
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History
Prior to 1946, CSR is thought to have been a military installation, and possibly a POW camp for captured German soldiers. These stories are frequently unverified.
Camp Cachalot began in 1946 as the campground for the former Cachalot Council, Boy Scouts of America. The majority of the camp burned to the ground during summer camp in 1964, when three separate fires were set in the adjacent Myles Standish State Forest by an arsonist. As of 2005, one can tell the areas that burned: They are made up almost entirely of scrub pine trees and oak saplings, set in sand that turns black not more than two inches below-ground. A side effect of the fire is the cleansing effect the remnants have had on the water in the camps many ponds. They are among the cleanest bodies of water in Massachusetts.
When the Cachalot and Massasoit Councils merged in 1972, the choice to sell off Camp Noquochoke stemmed from the size of the barren Cachalot property. At 880 acres (3.6 km²), the camp was able to better accommodate the larger resulting Moby Dick Council.
In 2001, Moby Dick Council merged with Narragansett Council. Camp Cachalot has remained open, and has currently remained the only council-owned camp. The other camp within Narragansett Council, Yawgoog Scout Reservation, is in fact owned by the Rhode Island Boy Scouts, an organization separate from the BSA.
Camp Cachalot was also the site of the annual Moby Dick Council Klondike Derby until 2002, when the event was renamed the Massasoit/Cachalot District Klondike Derby. This annual event pits teams of patrols against each other in competitions mostly centering around wilderness survival and teamwork skills. The event is supposed to recreate conditions of Alaskan gold-seaking teams, and often does when there's been enough January snowfall.
The fourth week of summer camp at Cachalot is called Eagle Week. This week is set aside for aspiring Eagle Scouts to attend and work on remaining parts of the application process, such as letters, required merit badges, etc.
Sites
The campsites at Cachalot exist in four forms: Cabins, adirondacks, campsites, and outposts. Adirondacks are three-walled semi-cabins with open fronts, and they sleep four people. Cabins are a typical cabin, and sleep between 10 and 20 people. The most famous cabin is the 21 Club, which has a maximum sleeping capacity of 20 people, with a legend describing the ability to fit a 21st person. Campsites are slowly being improved: Some have platforms for setting up summer camp tents, while others have a "house" frame with a platform to set tents up on. Outposts are merely clearings suitable for pitching standard tents, far removed into the woods. One campsite, Dragon's Landing, borders on being an outpost: It is located within the main camp, but is secluded and suitable only for pup-tents.
Cabins
For cabins, aside from the 21 Club, there are Cabin 1, Cabin 2, the Duplex, the Health Lodge, the Cook's Cabin, and Magee Village, a group of small cabins for summer camp staff, adjacent to Noquochoke.
Campsites
Campsites include James West, Dan Beard, Noquochoke, Acooshnet, Sippican, Sconticut East, Sconticut West, Assonet East, Assonet West, Witch's Circle, and Dragon's Landing.
Adirondacks
The Adirondacks are styled Baden-Powell.
Outposts
The primary outpost is in the southwest corner of the camp, located off the Green Trail, and called Frontiersman's Clearing. Witch's Circle and Dragon's Landing are also sometimes considered outposts because of their out-of-the-way locations, even though they're in the main camp.
Major structures
The 21 Club is the oldest building in the camp, having been moved to the facility from it's original site at Troop 21's campsite off Drift Road in Westport, MA sometime before 1948. It was used for several summers as the first camp Trading Post, as well as being used for year-round camping. After being moved to Cachalot, a fireplace and a smaller back room was added. The building underwent major renovations in the mid-1980s.
Prescott Dining Hall, adjacent to Prescott Field, is one of the oldest structures in the camp, constructed in 1951. It is one of buildings in the main camp property that survived the 1964 fire, and features well over 100 plaques hanging from its rafters crafted by Scout troops to show they attended summer camp. Prior to its construction, a large tent on the same site was used as a dining facility during summer camp.
The Covill Chapel is a small, outdoor, partially-enclosed sanctuary located not far from the mess hall and the Cook's Cabin. It was dedicated in 1968 in the memory of Raymond Covill, who had been instrumental in the initial purchase of and the development of the Cachalot property.
The Trading Post is a cement-block structure covered with a pine façade. A prior, wood-framed trading post/administration building on the same site burned in the late 1980s. Across Tom Cullen Field are the rifle and archery ranges.
The Silver Fox's Den is a lounge for Scoutmasters, recently completed by longtime Cadre Scoutmaster "Big Al" Langlais (it was originally the camp showerhouse.) Nearby is the former Camp Commissioner's Corner, which is now a maintenance shed. This building was originally used as a trading post, and predates the 1964 fire.
The Boathouse is a large waterfront structure in the parking lot, near the 21 Club. In the summer it hosts Handi-Craft, the Cycling Center, and the Welcome Center.
External Links
Camp Cachalot Alumni Association (http://www.cachalotalumni.org/)