History of the BSA Highlights

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1910

  • The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated
    • February 8, 1910
    • Under the laws of the District of Columbia
  • Thirty-four national representatives of boys’ work agencies met, June 21
    • Met in a temporary national headquarters in a YMCA office in New York
    • Developed organization plans
  • Founders of Scouting: (click here to learn more)
    • William D. Boyce, incorporator
    • Colin H. Livingstone, president
    • Daniel Carter Beard, national Scout commissioner
    • Ernest Thompson Seton, Chief Scout
    • James E. West, Chief Scout Executive
    • President William Howard Taft, honorary president
    • Former President Theodore Roosevelt, honorary vice president and Chief Scout Citizen

1911

  • National Council office opened, January 2
    • 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City
    • 7 employees
  • First annual meeting
    • At the White House, Washington, D.C.
    • Addressed by President Taft
  • The Scout Oath, Scout Law, badges, and fundamental policies were adopted
  • National Court of Honor presented the first awards for heroism: 22 Bronze Medals

1912

  • First Eagle Scout, August 12
    • Arthur Eldred
  • First national civic Good Turns were performed
    • Promotion of a safe and sane Fourth of July
  • Sea Scouting began
  • Boys’ Life became the official BSA magazine

1913

  • First local council charters were issued
  • Scouting became the official magazine for volunteers
  • First Boy Scout Week was celebrated

1914

  • First Scout Sunday was celebrated
  • First tree-planting project was held in New York
  • Training for Scout leaders was developed
  • First William T. Hornaday gold medal for the conservation of wildlife

1915

  • National office to train all Scouters was established
  • Fifty-seven merit badge pamphlets were issued
  • The Handbook for Scoutmasters was issued
  • The Order of the Arrow was founded

1916

  • Constitution and bylaws were adopted
  • The first college course in Scouting began at Teachers College, New York

1917

  • Scouting’s full resources were placed at the service of the government
    • Slogan: ‘‘Help Win the War’’
  • The first winter camp was held by Chicago Scouts

Scouts’ War Effort: 1917–1918

  • Sold 2,350,977 Liberty Loan bonds, totaling $147,876,902
  • Sold war savings stamps, to a value of $53,043,698
  • Distributed more than 300 million pieces of government literature
  • Aided in food and fuel conservation projects
  • Planted Boy Scout war gardens

1918

  • BSA adopted the slogan ‘‘The War Is Over, but Our Work Is Not’’
  • Scouts rendered nationwide service during the influenza epidemic

1919

  • First four Gold Medals were awarded by the National Court of Honor for saving a life at the risk of the rescuer’s own
  • U.S. Bureau of Naturalization invited Scouts to aid in its Americanization program

1920–1929

  • First World Jamboree, 1920
    • London, England
    • 8,000 Scouts from 34 countries were present
    • 301 BSA members attended
  • The international left handclasp was adopted, 1923
  • Every Scout a Swimmer program began, 1924
  • Second world jamboree, 1924
    • Copenhagen, Denmark
    • 56 BSA members attended
  • First Silver Buffalo Awards for distinguished service to boyhood were awarded, 1926
    • Twenty-two awards given
    • The first was awarded to Baden-Powell
    • The second was presented in the honor of the unknown Scout whose Good Turn brought Scouting to America
  • National office was moved to 2 Park Avenue, New York City, 1927

1930–1939

  • Cub Scout program was formally launched, 1930
    • 5,102 Cub Scouts by the end of the first year
    • First Silver Beaver awards for distinguished service to boyhood within a council, 1931
    • President Roosevelt called for help from the Scouts for the distressed and needy, 1934
    • Nationwide Good Turn
      • Collected 1,812,284 items of clothing, household furnishings, foodstuffs, and supplies
      • Silver Jubilee of Scouting, 1935
    • Membership passed 1 million, 1935
    • National jamboree was canceled because of an infantile paralysis epidemic, 1935
    • First national jamboree, 1937
      • Washington, D.C., at the invitation of President Roosevelt
      • 27,232 attended, representing 536 councils
    • Philturn Rockymountain Scoutcamp established
      • Gift from Waite Phillips, 1938
      • 35,857 acres of land near Cimarron, New Mexico

    1940–1949

    • Philmont Scout Ranch established
      • Additional gift from Waite Phillips, 1941
      • Residence and ranch buildings
      • Livestock and operating ranch equipment
      • Contiguous to former Philturn Rockymountain Scoutcamp
      • Total combined acreage: 127,000
    • First Silver Antelope Awards for distinguished service to youth within a region, 1943
    • Councils and campsites by 1949
      • 543 councils
      • 831 campsites
      • 288,545 acres

    Scouts’ War Effort: 1941–1945

    • Included 69 specific requests from the government
    • Collected 30 million pounds of rubber during a two-week drive
    • 20,000 Scouts earned the Gen. Douglas MacArthur Medal for Victory Gardens
    • Distributed pledge cards for war bonds and savings stamps
    • Distributed stamp posters
    • Collected aluminum, wastepaper, and salvage
    • Conducted defense housing surveys
    • Distributed air-raid posters
    • Served as messengers and dispatch bearers
    • Assisted emergency medical units
    • Served as fire watchers

    1950–1959

    • Second national jamboree, 1950
      • Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
      • 47,163 Scouts and leaders attended
    • First Boy Scout stamp issued by the U.S. Post Office Department, 1950
    • 2 million pounds of clothing collected for domestic and foreign relief, 1952
    • Distributed more than a million posters and 30 million Liberty Bell doorknob hangers in the Get-Out-the-Vote campaign, 1952
    • 20-millionth member joined, 1952
    • Third national jamboree, 1953
      • Irvine Ranch, California
      • 45,401 Scouts and leaders attended
    • Boys’ Life circulation passed 1 million, 1954
    • National office moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1954
    • More than 100,000 units, 1954
    • More than 1 million adult volunteers, 1954
    • Fourth national jamboree, 1957
      • Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
      • 50,100 Scouts and leaders attended
    • 15 millionth copy of the Handbook for Boys, 1957

    1960–1969

    • Scouting’s Golden Jubilee, 1960
    • Fifth national jamboree, 1960
      • Colorado Springs, Colorado
      • 53,378 Scouts and leaders attended
    • Johnston Historical Museum
      • Dedicated June 4, 1960
      • New Brunswick, New Jersey
    • Sixth national jamboree, 1964
      • Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
      • 52,000 Scouts and leaders attended
    • 500,000th Eagle Scout honored, 1965
    • 40 millionth member registered, 1965
    • BSA hosted the 12th world jamboree, 1967
      • Farragut State Park, Idaho
      • 12,000 Scouts and leaders from 107 countries attended
    • First female Explorers, 1969
    • Seventh national jamboree, 1969
      • Farragut State Park, Idaho
      • 35,000 youth and leaders attended

    1970–1979

    • Scouting Keep America Beautiful Day
      • June 5, 1971
      • Scouts collected more than a million tons of litter
    • National Eagle Scout Association formed, 1972
    • Eighth national jamboree at two sites, 1973
      • Moraine State Park, Pennsylvania
      • Farragut State Park, Idaho
      • 64,000 youth and leaders attended
    • Ninth national jamboree, 1977
      • Moraine State Park, Pennsylvania
      • 28,600 Scouts and leaders attended
    • National office moved to Irving, Texas, 1979

    1980–1989

    • 30 millionth Cub Scout, 1980
    • 10th national jamboree, 1981
      • Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
      • 30,000 Scouts and leaders attended
    • The 1 millionth Eagle Scout, 1982
      • Alexander M. Holsinger
    • 75th anniversary, 1985
      • Theme: “Pride in the Past ... Footsteps to the Future"
    • 11th national jamboree, 1985
      • Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
      • 32,615 Scouts and leaders attended
    • First Scouting for Food National Good Turn, 1988
      • More than 60 million food items were collected
    • 12th national jamboree, 1989
      • Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
      • 33,000 Scouts and leaders attended

      1990–1999

    • Learning for Life established, 1991
      • Character-building program for the classroom
      • 700,000 youth participated during the first year
    • 13th national jamboree, 1993
      • Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
      • 26,000 Scouts and leaders attended
    • 14th national jamboree, 1997
      • Fort A.P. Hill Virginia
      • 35,000 Scouts and leaders attended

      2000–2009

    • The 100-millionth youth member, 2000
      • Mario Castro
    • 15th national jamboree, 2001
      • Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
      • 40,000 youth and leaders attended
    • National Scouting Museum was built, 2002
      • 50,000-square-foot facility
      • Next to the national office in Irving, Texas
    • 16th national jamboree, 2005
      • Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia
      • 43,000 Scouts and leaders attended
    • ArrowCorps5, 2008
      • In cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service
      • 3,600 Scouts and adult volunteers participated
      • $5.6 million worth of improvements made to national parks
    • The 2 millionth Eagle Scout, 2009
      • Anthony Thomas

     

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