History of Camp Rock Enon Scout Reservation

“Camp Rock Enon was built for the boys.  Each experiencing the fun and adventure of the great outdoors that was the promise of Scouting at its best."

Camp Director T.A. Lowery

1944 Leaders Guide

 

On June 25, 1944 the first Camp Rock Enon summer camp season opened with 356 Scouts attending camp only a few short months after the Shenandoah Area Council purchased the land. It should be mentioned that much of the work done for the opening of camp for the first summer was done in a day’s time on a cooperative basis by the people of the entire Council.  Over 150 Scouts, leaders, council members, and friends of Scouting gathered at Rock Enon on this single day to lend a hand toward what seemed an insurmountable task.

Camp Rock Enon was officially dedicated on July 17, 1954, ten years after Scouting’s youth began camping at CRE.

“Thousands of Scouts and leaders have passed through the gate of Camp Rock Enon since that first season in 1944, all in search of the Scouting promise, fun and adventure in the outdoors. Whether through cooking a meal over an open fire; sleeping under canvass or starry sky; hiking to outpost; learning to swim or completing the mile swim; carving a neckerchief slide; weaving a basket; identifying trees, plants and wildlife; earning and advancement badge; or living and working together as a group; Scouts develop self-esteem and self-reliance, acquire a sense of teamwork, and discover, perhaps indirectly, even subtly, the makings of citizenship and physical and mental fitness that will serve them a lifetime; learning, ultimately, that Character Counts.”         Tom Louthan, Vice President Program, 1980

Camp Rock Enon consists of 860 acres nestled in the foothills of North Mountain in Gore, Virginia. Over the years many upgrades have been made to CRE, but the original “Rustic Splendor” enjoyed in 1945 remains to be enjoyed by all today. Camp Rock Enon is the location for the Shenandoah Area Council's Summer Camp programs plus many weekend activities and seasonal camping for Scouting units in Virginia, West Virginia and other surrounding states. Each year over 3000 Scouts and Scouters from Cub Packs, Scout Troops, Venture Crews, and Explorer Posts come to Camp Rock Enon to experience the great outdoors. 

The site of Camp Rock Enon was originally the home of the Rock Enon Springs Resort. Rock Enon Springs Resort was built up around a mineral water spring and was originally called Capper Springs after an early settler, John Capper. In 1856, William Marker bought the property and built a hotel to accommodate guests at the springs. The resort contained six types of springs on the 942 acres (3.8 km²) of property. During the mid 19th century, it became very popular as a place for people to heal various ailments by soaking in the spring's "medicine" waters. The resort survived the American Civil War and continued to draw Virginia's elite. It changed owners several times until, in 1919, it was purchased by Fred Glaize, Sr. and Lee Herrellin who tore down several buildings and the original wing of the hotel. The resort continued to lose business until 1945 when the Glaize Family sold the resort to the Shenandoah Area Council, Boy Scouts of America who now use it as their premier educational facility delivering the outdoor promise of Scouting.