West Central Florida Council was the former

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 serving

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

and west

Pasco County Pasco County is a county located on the west central coast in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2024, the population of the county is 656,851, making it the tenth-most populous county in the state. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest c ...

in Florida, between 1917–2016. It merged with Gulf Ridge Council to form the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council on May 1, 2016. At the time of its merger, over 6,000 youth and 4,000 adult volunteers were served by the West Central Florida Council. More than 100 young men earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2012. The West Central Florida Council earned the prestigious 2008 Centennial Quality Council Award from the

History

West Central Florida Council was originally chartered as the Pinellas Council in 1917. Pinellas Area Council changed its name to West Central Florida Council in the late 1970s to recognize that west Pasco County had been a part of the Council for many years.

Organization

The West Central Florida Council was divided into three distinct geographical Districts to best serve the youth of Pinellas and west Pasco Counties. *Anclote District (northern

and western

): Is named after the

Anclote River The Anclote River, running for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 18, 2011 near Tarpon Springs, Florida flows westward towards the Gulf of Mexico from its source of ...

and

Anclote Key Anclote Key is a barrier island off the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida, the largest island in the Anclote Keys, located at near Tarpon Springs. Its name originates from the Spanish term for "anchor." The island is accessible only by boa ...

which mark the border between Pinellas and Pasco Counties. More than 65

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,

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, and

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 serving areas including

Oldsmar Oldsmar is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 14,898. The Oldsmar name dates to April 12, 1916, when automobile pioneer Ransom E. Olds purchased of land north of Tampa Bay to es ...

, Palm Harbor,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

Tarpon Springs Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and underwent beautification in 2010. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 25,117 at the 2020 census. As of ...

, East Lake,

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

New Port Richey New Port Richey is a city in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburban city included in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was counted at 16,728 in the 2020 census. History ...

, Shady Hills, and

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson Rodrigues dos Santos, Brazilian f ...

. *Miccosukee District (central

): Is named after the

Miccosukee The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians ( /ˌmɪkəˈsuki/, MIH-kə-SOO-kee) is a federally recognized Native American tribe in the U.S. state of Florida. Together with the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and the Seminole Tribe of Florida, it is one of ...

, a Florida Native American tribe. More than 60 Packs, Troops, and Crews serving areas including Clearwater, Belleair,

Pinellas Park Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, United States. The population was 53,093 at the 2020 census. The city is the fourth largest city in Pinellas County. The City of Pinellas Park was incorporated in 1914. It is part of the ...

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

, Safety Harbor, and Largo. *Skyway District (southern

): Is named after the

Sunshine Skyway Bridge The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, officially referred to as the Bob Graham Sunshine Skyway Bridge, is a pair of long beam bridges with a central tall cable-stayed bridge. It spans Lower Tampa Bay to connect Pinellas County (St. Petersburg, Florid ...

that crosses the mouth of

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

. More than 60 Packs, Troops, and Crews serving areas including

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, Tierra Verde, South Pasadena,

St. Pete Beach St. Pete Beach (formerly known as St. Petersburg Beach until 1994) is a coastal city in Pinellas County, Florida. Known as a tourist destination, St. Pete Beach was formed from the towns of Pass-a-Grille, Belle Vista, St. Petersburg Beach, and un ...

, and

Treasure Island ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...

Camps

Its two main Scout camps were Sand Hill Scout Reservation in Spring Hill and Camp Soule in Clearwater. There was also a smaller facility at Bigfoot Wilderness Camp near Dade City.

Order of the Arrow

The West Central Florida Council's

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 ...

Lodge was ''Timuquan Lodge'', founded in 1946. The Order of the Arrow is Scouting's National Honor Society that recognizes youth and adult leaders who best exemplify the

Scout Oath The Scout Promise (or Oath) is a declaration made by a person joining the Scout movement. Since the publication of ''Scouting for Boys'' in 1908, all Scouts and Girl Guides around the world have taken a Scout (or Guide) promise or oath to live up ...

and

Scout Law Scout Law is a set of codes in the Scout movement. Since the publication of '' Scouting for Boys'' in 1908, all Scouts and Guides around the world have taken a Scout Promise or oath to live up to the ideals of the movement and have subscribed to ...

in their daily lives. The lodge was named in honor of the extinct

Timucua The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The va ...

Native American tribe of northern and central Florida. Timuquan Lodge hosted the S-4 OA Section Conference at Sand Hill Scout Reservation from April 17–19, 2009. Nearly 1,100 Scouts and leaders from throughout Florida and southern Georgia attended the event. With the merger of the two councils in 2016, Timuquan Lodge joined the Gulf Ridge Council's ''Seminole Lodge'' to form the newly named ''Uh-To-Yeh-Hut-Tee Lodge''.

References

External links

* {{Scouting Defunct local councils of the Boy Scouts of America 1917 establishments in Florida

History

Organization

Camps

Order of the Arrow

See also

References

External links