Keewaydin (camp)
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Keewaydin Canoe Camp is a Canadian and Vermont-based summer camp.
Founded as a canoe tripping camp in the northern wilds of Maine in 1893, by A.S. Gregg Clarke (aka “the Commodore”), Keewaydin is among the oldest summer camps in North America. In the early years Clarke and his campers canoe tripped for months at a time with first four, then seven and then 30 boys, living and embracing what he called the “Strenuous Life.” The camp grew in the 1890s and Clarke took on several partners to help purchase canoes, etc for his growing campership. But, after the 1901 season Clarke decided lumber companies and tourists had overtaken Maine and sought more rugged wilderness for his trips. Selling off his shares of the camp in Maine, Clarke led a group north into Canada. For the summer of 1902 they were nomads: traveling from place to place, surveying the land, and looking for potential home bases. A year later they identified Devil’s Island on Lake Temagami and set up a temporary camp. By 1904, they’d settled permanently on the south end of Devil’s Island. They called the camp Keewaydin after the northwest wind, a harbinger of good weather and fair tripping. In the ensuing years the camp grew, numbers of campers increased and the infrastructure on Devil’s Island grew along with them. Wigwams, dividing campers into age, maturity and experience groupings, were added and trips ranged further afield. By 1910 Clarke became convinced there should be a Keewaydin camp for younger boys who would take shorter trips, spending more time doing in-camp activities. And he had the perfect site on Lake Dunmore in mind. That summer of 1910 a group of six boys and a few staff, led by George “Bull Moose” Wilson, thrived at Keewaydin on Lake Dunmore in Vermont.
In 1921 the Keewaydin directors established a new camp, for girls only, on Lake Willoughby in northeastern Vermont. Called Songadeewin, meaning “Strong of Heart,” it became the sister camp to Keewaydin at Dunmore. Girls participated in a variety of activities, took canoe and hiking trips, and participated in camp craft by the lake shore. In the 1930s additional camps were added all over the United States: a family camp, a fishing camp, sailing camps, cycling camps and riding camps, some lasting for one season, some for as many as 50 seasons. By 1938, the camp board was large with diverging interests and directors, so a disbanding of the Keewaydin Camps Limited partnership was proposed, and accepted, by the board. Many of the camps were purchased by each director and some closed their doors for good.
The diverging paths of Keewaydin Dunmore, Keewaydin Temagami, and Songadeewin led to various owners and unique histories for all three camps.