THE SCOUTING MOVEMENT IS BORN
The history of Scouting in the San Francisco Bay Area Council cannot be written without
first going back to October of 1899. For it was that year during the Battle of Mafeking
at the Northern tip of Cape Colony in South Africa that Colonel Robert SS Baden-Powell
of the British army used his skills as an army scout to hold the city of Mafeking
against 7500 Boer warriors for over seven months until a British relief party could
arrive. During this time Baden-Powell made numerous Scouting expeditions outside
the city almost every night and organized the first band of “Boy Scouts” in the British
Army. This purely military conception of the Scout that Baden-Powell had in mind
gave way about eight years later to the broader and finer ideals of training boys
through techniques in scout craft.
In 1906 Baden-Powell now a Lieutenant-General and very well known in England had
met American Ernest Thompson Seton as well as Daniel Beard who both had ideas regarding
boys and the outdoors. Baden-Powell had read Seton's book, The Birch Bark Roll of
the Woodcraft Indians, and was greatly intrigued by it and the two men shared their
ideas about teaching boys outdoor skills.
A year later in August of 1907 in Southern England on the island of Brownsea and
seven miles from the English Channel, Robert Baden-Powell held a scout encampment
which was attended by 21 scouts. During this week long encampment Baden-Powell taught
scout craft and other scouting skills to the boys. The Brownsea encampment is recognized
as the world's first Scout camp and is regarded as the origin of the worldwide Scouting
movement. In 1908 Baden-Powell released his “Scouting for Boys” handbook that taught
the skills of scoutcraft and the patrol method developed at Brownsea. The Scouting
for Boys book has been used as the basis for many Scout handbooks around the world
including the Boy Scout Handbook used here in the United States.
SCOUTING COMES TO AMERICA
I
n 1909 while passing through England on an expedition to Africa, Chicago businessman
William Boyce had stopped in London for a meeting. In the thick morning fog of London,
Boyce got disoriented and lost his way. A boy saw that Boyce was lost and asked
if he could be of help. Boyce explained that he had an important business meeting
to attend. The Scout offered, "If you'll give me the address I'll take you there."
In return for his help Boyce wanted to give the boy a token for his appreciation,
but the boy declined the offer. When he asked why, the boy replied, "Because I'm
a Scout!" the boy explained. Later that day Boyce went to the Scout headquarters
to meet Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the British Boy Scout
movement. Boyce had an extended meeting with Baden-Powell who explained his Scouting
program to him. Boyce was so impressed with the potential of a Scouting program for
America that when he returned to America he brought back a trunk full of Scout literature,
uniforms and insignia to America. Boyce had many dealings with boys, but nothing
had impressed him as much as his first encounter with the unknown Boy Scout in the
London fog.
THE BOYS SCOUTS OF AMERICA IS FOUNDED
A soon as Boyce returned home to Chicago from his expedition, he began working on
an American Scouting organization. He discussed the idea with his friend, Colin
H. Livingstone, of Washington, D.C., and with other people in Washington. Livingstone
would later become the President of the National Scout Council. Only four months
after his foggy encounter with the unknown Scout in London, William D. Boyce incorporated
the organization, choosing Washington, DC, rather than Chicago to emphasize its national
character. It was in Washington that the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on
February 8, 1910. The stated purpose of the Boy Scouts when the organization was
incorporated was to teach (boys) patriotism, courage, self-reliance and kindred values.
These values have changed little in the 100 years since its incorporation.
Later that year President Theodor Roosevelt placed his seal of approval on the Boy
Scouts of America on September 23, 1910 at a banquet honoring Robert Baden-Powell
by stating, "I believe in the movement with all of my heart". In March of 1912,
World Scouting founder and leader Baden-Powell along with Chief Scout Executive James
West on a promotional tour of the United Sates met in San Francisco at the Palace
Hotel to discuss with Bay Area Scout leaders the Scouting movement. The fledgling
Scouting movement was growing fast and furious across the Country.
OAKLAND AND SAN FRANCISCO COUNCILS ARE ORGANIZED
Newspaper articles show that as early as September of 1910, Scout troops were being
organized in the cities of both Oakland and San Francisco. Influential city and
private leaders from both Oakland and San Francisco had been discussing for some
time the prospect of organizing local Boy Scout Councils. Days before the United
States Congress granted a charter to the Boy Scouts of America, the Oakland-Piedmont
Council was officially organized on June 2, 1916 and then six months later on January
15, 1917 the San Francisco Council was officially organized.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA COUNCIL IS CREATED
In the early 1960's former United States Senator William F. Knowland chaired a study
commission by the Western Region of the Boy Scouts of America regarding a plan to
merge all nine of the Scout Councils in the Bay Area into one large council. Of
the nine Bay Area Councils, only the Oakland Council and the San Francisco Council
voted in favor of a merger. The Oakland Council was larger but even so its operating
costs were much less than that of the San Francisco Council where the population
of Scout age boys was shrinking. It still made practical sense to merge the two
councils though. Almost fifty years after the Oakland and San Francisco Councils
were first organized, these two councils would merge on Monday, February 10, 1964
atop Yerba Buena Island in a ceremony uniting the 30,000 Scouts and leaders of the
former councils and creating the San Francisco Bay Area Council.
This year during the centennial celebration of the founding of the Boy Scouts of
America, the San Francisco Bay Area Council celebrates 46 years as a combined council,
94 years since our original councils were formed and 100 years of Scouting in the
Bay Area. To celebrate the centennial, in April of 2010, the San Francisco Bay Area
Council had the honor of hosting the Northern California 100th Anniversary of Scouting
Jamboree at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. Over 20,000 Scouts, Scouters,
Scout families and the general public participated in a once in a lifetime event
honoring the Boy Scouts of America. Thus begins the history of the San Francisco
Bay Area Council and its predecessors the Oakland Area Council and the San Francisco
Council.
Do you have any pictures or local Scouting memorabilia that you would like displayed?
We are always looking for additional information regarding the Oakland Area Council,
the San Francisco Council and the San Francisco Bay Area Council that can be displayed
and shared with others. If you have any information, pictures or even home movies
on Camp Dimond, Dimond-O, Camp Loomer, Willits Scout Reservation, and Machek N’Gult
Lodge of the Oakland Council or Camp Royaneh, Camp Lilienthal, Crescent M, Bar H
Ranch and Royaneh Lodge of the San Francisco Council please emaill us at “webmaster@sfbac-history.org”
or visit the About Us section to contact us.
