Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council
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Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council (#055) is a
Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
council headquartered in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
. It was the result of a council merger between the Santa Clara County Council and the Monterey Bay Area Council. In 2004, the previous two councils served over 11,000 youth in over 400
Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...
troops,
Cub Scout Cubs or Wolf Cubs are programs associated with some Scout organizations, for young children, usually between 8 and 12, who are too young to be Scouts and make the Scout Promise. A participant in the program is called a Cub and a group of Cubs ...
packs,
Venturing Venturing is a core program of Scouting America for coeducational teenagers and young adults ages 14 (or 13 and graduated the eighth grade) through 20. It is one of Scouting America's three programs for older youth, the others being Sea Scouts and ...
crews, and
Explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...
posts. In 2012, the Monterey Bay Area Council announced that after 89 years as a separate council, it had agreed to merge back into the Santa Clara County Council. , the council served 13,000 youth in four different counties.


Organization

The council is divided into districts: * Coyote Creek - Serves the City of
Milpitas Milpitas (Spanish for or little cornfields) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, part of Silicon Valley and the broader San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, it is bordered by San Jose to the south, ...
South into East San Jose in the communities of Alum Rock, Berryessa, Evergreen, Silver Creek, West to Monterey Highway including a good portion of downtown San Jose, including the neighborhoods of Naglee Park and Japan Town. * Quicksilver - Serves the area of Gilroy,
Morgan Hill Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining and recreation ...
, San Martin,
Willow Glen Willow Glen is a district of San Jose, California, San Jose, California, in Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara County. Willow Glen is known for its historic downtown, dining and shopping, and is one of the most expensive neighborhoods t ...
,
Blossom Valley Blossom Valley is a neighborhood of San Jose, California, located in South San Jose. Geography Blossom Valley is located in South San Jose. It is northeast of Almaden Valley, northwest of Santa Teresa, east of Cambrian, west of Edenvale, and ...
,
Almaden Valley Almaden Valley (Spanish: ''Valle de Almadén''), commonly known simply as Almaden (Spanish: ''Almadén''), is a valley and neighborhood of San Jose, California, located in South San Jose. It is nestled between the Santa Cruz Mountains to the we ...
, East and South San Jose. * Pioneer - serves the communities of North San Jose, Santa Clara, Western San Jose, Campbell,
Los Gatos Los Gatos (; ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of t ...
, Monte Sereno and Redwood Estates. * Polaris - serves the communities of Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and Saratoga. * Loma Prieta - Santa Cruz County, plus Royal Oaks and Aromas * San Benito -
San Benito County San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for " St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Central Coast region of California. Situated in the California Coast Ranges, the county had a population of 64 ...
, except Aromas * Santa Lucia -
Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is ...
, except Royal Oaks


History

The San Jose Council of the Boy Scouts of America was founded on August 20, 1920 by John Crummey (president of Bean Spray and Pump Company, later known as
Food Machinery Corporation FMC Corporation is an American chemical manufacturing company headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which originated as an insecticide producer in 1883 and later diversified into other industries. In 1941 at the beginning of US involvemen ...
), Robert Bentley, Jr. (president of Muirson Label Company) and Archer Bowden (San Jose attorney). Bentley served as the first council president, Julius Rainwater was the first scout executive, and Edmund Richmond was the first council commissioner. In 1922, the council changed its name to Santa Clara County Council, and took over administration for all of
Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County form the ...
. The council was incorporated in 1923, and oversight of
San Benito County San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for " St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Central Coast region of California. Situated in the California Coast Ranges, the county had a population of 64 ...
was added the same year.
Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...
and Santa Cruz counties were added in 1927. In 1933 San Benito, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties were split off to form the Monterey Bay Area Council. In 1939 the area around
Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...
split off to form its own council, the now-defunct Stanford Area Council. That council, which had been one of the smaller BSA councils in the nation by area, merged with San Mateo County Council in the 1990s to form
Pacific Skyline Council One of the six Boy Scouts of America councils that serves the San Francisco Bay area, the Pacific Skyline Council was founded in 1940 as the Stanford Area Council (#031). In 1994, the Stanford Area Council merged with the San Mateo County Council ...
.


Monterey Bay Area Council

The Monterey Bay Area Council was formed in 1933, when San Benito, Santa Cruz and
Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...
counties were split off from the Santa Clara County Council. The council grew and was given the land for
Camp Pico Blanco Camp Pico Blanco is an inactive camp of (originally ) in the interior region of Big Sur in Central California. It is operated by the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council, of the Boy Scouts of America, a new council formed as a result of a merge ...
in 1948 by
William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...
. After the separation, they shared borders on two sides.


Council merger

The Santa Clara Council had successfully balanced its budget from 2002 to 2012 and had attracted new membership every month for nearly four years. It was recognized by the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America as a Centennial Quality Council every year from 2006 and 2010 and was a Gold level Journey to Excellence Council in 2011. The Monterey Bay Area Council was on “conditional charters” during 2010 and 2011 and was given specific goals to balance its budget and increase its membership. The Council failed to reach those goals and in 2012 the national BSA gave the Monterey Bay Area Council a “transitional charter” and instructed it to seek a merger. In July 2012, the Monterey Bay Area Council announced it would be merging with the Santa Clara County Council. The announcement attributed the merger in large part to more than a million dollars in debt accumulated by the Monterey Bay Area Council. Expenses included the construction of a fish ladder and a new dining lodge at
Camp Pico Blanco Camp Pico Blanco is an inactive camp of (originally ) in the interior region of Big Sur in Central California. It is operated by the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council, of the Boy Scouts of America, a new council formed as a result of a merge ...
. The Monterey Bay Area Council had also experienced continuous declining enrollment. In early 2012, the existing council board asked the Santa Clara County Council to operate the council while the merger was underway. The Santa Clara Council formed a committee to complete the merger and study which of the three camps it will continue to own—
Camp Pico Blanco Camp Pico Blanco is an inactive camp of (originally ) in the interior region of Big Sur in Central California. It is operated by the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council, of the Boy Scouts of America, a new council formed as a result of a merge ...
, Camp Hi-Sierra, and Chesebrough Scout Reservation. In September 2012, the combined councils announced that over 75 names had been suggested by volunteers for the new council, and that from among these names they had chosen Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council as the combined council's name. The merger was finalized in December 2012.


Council camps

The new council currently operates three camps and has operated several others in the past. As a result of the merger with the Monterey Bay Area Council, the Santa Clara Council studied which of the three camps it would continue to operate. , it is operating Camp Hi-Sierra and Chesebrough Scout Reservation.
Camp Pico Blanco Camp Pico Blanco is an inactive camp of (originally ) in the interior region of Big Sur in Central California. It is operated by the Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council, of the Boy Scouts of America, a new council formed as a result of a merge ...
was in operation until a road failure in 2017 forced the camp to close. The council put the camp on the market in April 2022.


Camp Hi-Sierra

Camp Hi-Sierra is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, minutes from the small town of Long Barn, California. This camp is at notably high altitude, with the majority of its buildings standing at approximately and the highest point of the mountain standing over a mile high at . The camp is used year-round with six weeks of Scouting camp during the summer. In the past it has played host to International Rendezvous, and is hosting one in the summer of 2025. During the 'off season' Camp Hi-Sierra is used for training sessions as well as council activities.


History

Camp Hi-Sierra was created in 1949 with land that the Santa Clara County Council bought within the
Stanislaus National Forest Stanislaus National Forest is a National forest (United States), U.S. national forest which manages of land in four counties in the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. It was established on February 22, 1897, making it one of the oldest natio ...
. Before the camp was a Scout Reservation though it was inhabited by the Miwok Indians. When
logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksStanislaus National Forest Stanislaus National Forest is a National forest (United States), U.S. national forest which manages of land in four counties in the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. It was established on February 22, 1897, making it one of the oldest natio ...
. Its official postal address is in nearby Long Barn, California, although it is about one mile southeast of Cold Springs, California. The turn-off is about 30 miles East of
Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...
and nearly one mile West of Cold Springs Market on State Route 108. The tourist town of Pinecrest, California and its popular Pinecrest Lake are approximately five miles further East on Hwy 108.


Facilities

Buildings at Camp Hi-Sierra include a staff bunkhouse, dining hall, office, and other structures. The camp is bisected by the North Fork of the
Tuolumne River The Tuolumne River ( Yokutsan: ''Tawalimnu'') flows for through Central California, from the high Sierra Nevada to join the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley. Originating at over above sea level in Yosemite National Park, the Tuolumne ...
. On the western side is Staff Hill, home to the camp staff during the summertime. Also, this side contains the camp office, health lodge, dining hall, flag meadow, and the ranger's home. On the southernmost end of the camp property is a small seasonal man-made lake. On the eastern side of camp is the Blackfoot Meadow, home to the baseball diamond. Directly across from Blackfoot Meadow is the archery range. Also near the meadow is the frisbee disc golf course. Further south is the high adventure area; this includes the bike barn and rock climbing tower. Across from the climbing wall (built in 2016) is the trading post, which was built in 2005. Next to the high adventure area is the Trail to Eagle area (also called Treagle) and beyond that the Scoutcraft area. Opposite from Scoutcraft is the "livery", home of the craft shop. Behind this is the Nature area, formerly the High-Adventure Base. The log cabin has now been converted into the nature cabin, with space on the second floor for storage and a workspace, formerly a sleeping area. Across the path from the Nature area is Foxfire. On this fenced-in property, there is a tipi for Indian lore classes and a blacksmith shop with a coal forge and three anvils. This is home of the Mountain Man program, where scouts can learn blacksmithing, woodcarving, and tomahawk throwing. The eastern side of the river contains all of the scout camps, where 250-350 scouts can be housed in tents. High on the hill are the shooting ranges and chapel.


Chesebrough Scout Reservation

Chesebrough Scout Reservation, also called Camp Chesebrough is a
Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
camp in the
Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...
of Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. The camp is owned by the Memorial Foundation of the Santa Clara County Council, and is used year-round for troop campouts,
Order of the Arrow The Order of the Arrow (OA) is the honor society of Scouting America, composed of Scouts and Scouters who best exemplify the Scout Promise, Scout Oath and Scout Law, Law in their daily lives as elected by their peers. It was founded as a camp fr ...
events and
Wood Badge Wood Badge is a Scout leader training program, first implemented by The Scout Association, The Boy Scouts Association in the United Kingdom in 1919 and subsequently adopted, with variations, by some other Scout organizations. Wood Badge Course ...
trainings; and as a Cub Scouting day camp and a junior leadership resident camp during the summer.


History

The original of Chesebrough Scout Reservation in Santa Cruz County were donated to the original Santa Clara County Council by Paul and Nessie Chesebrough in 1977. Paul had inherited the camp and much of the surrounding area from his aunt Edith Van Antwerp in 1949. The Chesebroughs felt that the land should remain open and available for use by the people of California, so they donated much of it to the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, the Sempervirens Fund, and of course, the Boy Scouts. The Chesebroughs donated another adjoining the property in San Mateo County in 1983. The council wanted to use Chesebrough as an undeveloped wilderness camp, but the closing of Camp Stuart in Saratoga in 1990 forced the council to move many of the activities from that camp to Chesebrough, including the Cub Scout day camp, which required the construction of additional facilities.


Location

Chesebrough Scout Reservation straddles the Santa Cruz-San Mateo county border, and is located south of Saratoga on California State Route 9, and south of that road's intersection with California State Route 35, or Skyline Boulevard at Saratoga Gap. The Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail passes through the camp about from its Skyline terminus, in Castle Rock State Park. The camp is bordered by Saratoga Gap Open Space Preserve and Long Ridge Open Space Preserves of the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District, and Castle Rock and Portola State Parks.


Facilities

Chesebrough Scout Reservation has about 8 campsites, each capable of holding at least 30 campers. In addition, the camp has a large modern kitchen, a 300-seat campfire amphitheater, BB gun and archery ranges, and of hiking trails. The trails connect to the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail, giving access to Castle Rock State Park,
Big Basin Redwoods State Park Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of California, located in Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, about northwest of Santa Cruz, California, Santa Cruz. The park contains almost all of the Waddell Cree ...
, and Cutter Scout Reservation.


Camp Pico Blanco

Camp Pico Blanco is an inactive camp of (originally ) in the interior region of
Big Sur Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Range, Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from th ...
in Central California. The camp is surrounded by the
Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...
, the
Ventana Wilderness The Ventana Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Santa Lucia Range along the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969 when the V ...
, undeveloped private land owned by Graniterock, and is located near the
Little Sur River The Little Sur River is a long river on the Central Coast of California. The river and its main tributary, the a long South Fork, drain a watershed of about of the Big Sur area, a thinly settled region of the Central California coast where ...
.


Former camps

*
Alum Rock Park Alum Rock Park, in the Alum Rock, San Jose, Alum Rock district of San Jose, California, San Jose, California, is California's oldest municipal park, established in 1872 but serving as public land since the pueblo was established in 1777. Located ...
(1921 – unknown). The council was given exclusive access to in the park. * Camp Swanton (1924 – 1930) * Camp Arroyo Sequoia (1931 – 1944, 1948) * Camp Bonnie Brier (early 1940s), now known as Boulder Creek Scout Reservation and operated by Pacific Skyline Council * San Lorenzo Scout Ranch (1941 – 1948) * Camp Totocano, near
Swanton, California Swanton is a small community in an unincorporated area of Santa Cruz County on the Pacific coast, situated about north of the town of Davenport, to the east of State Route 1 on Swanton Road. The US Geological Survey designates Swanton as a ...
(1927 – 1934) * Camp Wing, at Big Sur State Park (1937) * Camp Esselen, at Big Sur State Park (1938 – 1953) * Fort Ord Scout Camp


Camp Stuart

Camp Stuart (formally, the Stuart Scout Training Reservation), founded in 1944, is a defunct camp in
Saratoga, California Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. Located in Silicon Valley, in the southern Bay Area, it had a population of 31,051 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Saratoga is known for its wineries, restaurant ...
. It was donated by Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Stuart, and named in memory of their son, Reginald Ross Stuart. The camp contains , and is located near Sanborn-Skyline County Park. The camp had a pool, dining room, multipurpose building, flush toilets, shower building, meeting lodge and many campsites. Bohlman Road, which was paved in the 1950s, divides the camp in two. One side served as a Cub Scout day camp, one of the largest in the United States, serving nearly 3000 Scouts each year. Camp Stuart's last summer of operation was in 1988. The Santa Clara County Council already owned two other camps, and decided to sell Camp Stuart to take advantage of rising land values. The camp was sold in 1989, shortly before several buildings were damaged in the
Loma Prieta earthquake On October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. PST, the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred at the Central Coast of California. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, approximately 10 mi (16 km) ...
. The county has not demolished or developed the camp, and has no funds or apparent plans for the area.Mardi Bennett (ed); ''Scouting in the Santa Clara Valley''; 1990; Rosicrucian Press; San Jose, California;


Order of the Arrow

As a result of the merger, the two former council's OA chapters have merged from the former Santa Clara County Council's Miwok Lodge and the Monterey Bay Area Council's Esselen Lodge into the new Saklan Lodge.


See also

*
Scouting in California Scouting in California has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs related to their environments. Early history (1910–1950) In the early days of ″Scouting″ there were several different ...


External links


SCCC Programs-Camping-Camp Hi-Sierra
Santa Clara County Council's official Camp Hi-Sierra page
Camp Hi-Sierra


References

{{reflist Organizations based in Santa Clara County, California Boy Scout councils in California 1920 establishments in California