Alameda Council was one of the seven smallest BSA councils in the United States until 2020, serving youth in the city of

Alameda An alameda is a street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile * Alameda (Santiago ...

. It was first organized in December 1916 and chartered in January 1917, shortly after the organization of BSA councils in Berkeley and

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, making it the third oldest BSA council in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. It was one of six BSA councils that serve the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, California, San Jose, and Oakland, Ca ...

area.

History

In 1916, a group of community leaders led by Barclay Stephens, approached the Boy Scouts of America about having a council for their community. This occurred around the same time that the

Oakland-Piedmont Council The Golden Gate Area Council (GGAC) is a council of the Boy Scouts of America, formed by a merger of the San Francisco Bay Area Council, Alameda Council, and the Mount Diablo Silverado Council in June 2020. GGAC is one of the six councils that se ...

(#021) was chartered. The residents of Alameda felt that they should have their own council separate from Oakland. The council was founded with seven troops started in January 1917. The council no longer had any camps of its own, having relinquished both leased properties (Cedarbrook and Stephens). Given its small size, the council has focused on its youth programs and developing adult leaders. One of these, the ''Order of the Solo Hiker'', was a local award meant to honor dedicated volunteers.

Camps

* Camp Cedarbrook (closed 1999) -

Long Barn Long Barn, located in the village of Sevenoaks Weald, Kent, is a Grade II* listed building and a Grade II* registered garden. Reputedly the birthplace of William Caxton, the house was later the home of Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson. ...

* Camp Stephens (now Camp Oski operated by the

CAA CAA may refer to: Law * Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 of India ** Protests regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act * Copyright assignment agreement, to transfer copyright to another party * Clean Air Act, United States law to reduce air p ...

) - Pinecrest Lake

Order of the Arrow

The ''Kaweah Lodge'' of the

Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. The society was created by E. Urner ...

was founded by council leaders in 1947 with the first OA members inducted at Camp McBride by members of Yo-Se-Mite Lodge #278. The lodge continued for over 73 years of continuous service, until being folded into the new Yerba Buena Lodge of the new Golden Gate Area Council.

References

{{Scouting in the United States Alameda, California Boy Scout councils in California

History

Camps

Order of the Arrow

See also

References