Quapaw Area Council

Connected to: Order of the ArrowGirl GuidesSilver Buffalo Award

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Quapaw Area Council

Owner Boy Scouts of America

Location 3220 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, AR 72202
Country United States
Coordinates 34.763�N 92.311�W
Founded 1927
Membership 18,000 youth
3,600 adults
Scout Executive Marcal Young
Previous
Pulaski County Council
Website
www.quapawbsa.org
Scouting portal
The Quapaw Area Council is a regional council of the Boy Scouts of America. It is
the largest Council in Arkansas in both area and members and is headquartered in
Little Rock.[1] The council serves over 18,000 youth and 3,600 adults in thirty-
nine counties divided into ten districts, and approximately 100 boys become Eagle
Scouts each year.[2]

History
The Boy Scouts of America began in Arkansas in 1913, when the Little Rock Council
was chartered by the National Boy Scout Council and was directed by a volunteer
commissioner. In 1920, the Little Rock Council was reclassified and W. G. Moseley
became the first council executive in 1921. Two years later, the Little Rock
Council was renamed to the Pulaski County Council.[3]

In 1927, the Pulaski County Council was renamed the Quapaw Area Council and covered
several counties. In 1934, the Kanawha Area Council of Jefferson County was split
between the Quapaw Area Council and the De Soto Area Council, which had a council
office in El Dorado (Union County).[3]

In May 2001, after years of struggling, it was decided that the Eastern Arkansas
Area Council was no longer able to continue service. On October 8, 2001, the board
of Quapaw Area Council voted to accept the merger proposal of the former EAAC, and
the EAAC ceased to function, effective January 10, 2002.[4] This merger enlarged
the Council from seventeen counties to thirty-three counties.

In 2011 the Ouachita Area Council,[5] founded in 1938, proposed that it merge into
the Quapaw Area Council. On October 26, 2011, Quapaw�s executive board approved a
request and the Ouachita Area Council ceased to function, effective January 11,
2012.[5] This merger enlarged the Council from thirty-three counties to its current
size of thirty-nine counties. The Diamond Lake and Nischa Sipo districts were part
of the Ouachita Area Council prior to the merger.

Council members who have received national honors include Dr. Raymond V. Biondo[6]
and Dr. David Briscoe, both of whom received the Silver Buffalo Award.[7]

Organization
The council is divided into 10 districts.

Cherokee
Delta
 Diamond Lake
Foothills
Pinnacle f/k/a Mohawk
Saracen
Nischa Sipo
Three Rivers
Thunderbird
White River
Camps
Gus Blass Scout Reservation
Gus Blass Scout Reservation
Camp Rockefeller

Location Damascus, Arkansas

Coordinates 36.34455�N 91.59223�W
Founded 1976
Property Manager Terry Jones
Camp Ranger Shane Coursey
Assistant Camp Ranger Eddie Ridgeway
Website
www.camprockefeller.org
Currently the Quapaw Area Council owns and operates the Gus Blass Scout
Reservation, west of Damascus, Arkansas.[8]

The Gus Blass Scout Reservation also includes the Donald W. Reynolds Scout Training
Center. This facilities include a 320-seat dining hall with commercial kitchen, 88
person/28 room sleeping wing including two ADA compliant rooms, 3 large classrooms,
an area with a large fireplace, 2 large terraced areas and additional camping on
the adjacent property.[9]

In 1975, the council acquired Camp Kiwanis, in order to accommodate more Scouts and
camping activities. Camp Kiwanis was an unimproved site which included over 2,900
acres west of Damascus, Arkansas. It was renamed the Cove Creek Scout Reservation
and opened in 1976. Camp Quapaw was then closed and later sold.[1]

In 1981, the portion of Cove Creek that was used as a permanent summer camp was
named Camp Montgomery, after Nile Montgomery, a previous Scout executive. The lake
was named Lake Butler, for Richard C. Butler Sr., a supporter of the local Scouting
program.[1]

In 2001, the Cove Creek Scout Reservation and Camp Nile Montgomery where renamed
the Gus Blass Scout Reservation and Camp Rockefeller in honor of Gus Blass II and
Lieutenant Governor Winthrop P. Rockefeller both of whom were supporters of the Boy
Scout program for many years.[1]

Historic Camps
The first permanent camping facilities for the Quapaw council was Camp Quapaw,
opened in 1925. It was located on the Saline River west of Benton in Saline County.
This early facility was limited so between 1930 and 1931, fifty-five additional
acres were purchased, and a mess hall was constructed. The numbers of Scouts
attending camp increased which led to an overuse of the facilities. Additionally,
the Army Corps of Engineers was considering a dam on the Saline River. This would
have flooded a section of the camp. In 1976 when Camp Kiwanis was purchases, Camp
Quapaw was then closed and later sold.[1]

In 2002, after the merger of the Eastern Arkansas Council, the council gained
control of Camp Cedar Valley, which it promptly sold to a private owner. It is
situated on 777 acres in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains, 2-1/2 miles south of
Viola, Arkansas. It remains an active camp and is available for use by Scouts.[10]
Then in 2012, after the merger of Ouachita Area Council, the council gained control
of The Rhodes Scout Reservation, a 16,000 + acre camp on Lake DeGray, located in
Bismarck, Arkansas near Arkadelphia.[11] Again, this camp was promptly sold, this
time to the Ouachita Camp Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers and the Ross Foundation, but is it available for use by the Troops of the
Quapaw Area Council [11]

Order of the Arrow

Quapaw Lodge

Founded June 1939

Membership 500
The Order of the Arrow Quapaw Lodge 160 was formed with fifteen members in June
1939 and inducted sixty-two members during the summer of 1939. Today, the lodge has
about 500 members.[1]

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Quapaw Area Council