Scouting in Kansas

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Scouting in Kansas has a long history, from the 1910s^{[citation needed]} to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

The Brewer Scout Cabin in Solomon is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Mrs. Fern E. Sears was the organizer of the first Kansas City, Kansas council of Girl Scouts and author of a book on Christian symbols, "Let Me Speak". She trained Girl Scout leaders and established troops in Kansas City, Kansas in 1948 when the area qualified for a council, called the Santa Fe Trail council. Mrs. Sears was named first president, and was an honorary life president at the time of her death on August 24, 1959.^[1]

In 1958 the National Order of the Arrow Conference was held at the University of Kansas.

In the 1990s and 2000s, BTK killer, also known as Dennis Rader, was a part of the Cub Scouts. He was a leader.^[2]

There are six Scouting America (formerly the Boy Scouts of America) local councils in Kansas.

Coronado Area Council serves north central and northwest Kansas, across 32 counties, with headquarters in Salina.

Heart of America Council serves Scouts in Missouri and Kansas.

In 1928 the Topeka Council took over 39 counties across northern Kansas and became the Jayhawk Area Council.

• Bison District
• Pony Express District
• Sojadi District
• Sunflower District

The Jayhawk Area Council operates the 340 acre Falley Scout Reservation, which is divided into Camp Jayhawk (Scouts BSA Summer Camp) and Camp Delaware (Cub Scout Programs).

Ozark Trails Council serves Scouts in Missouri and Kansas.

The Pony Express Council is based in Saint Joseph, Missouri, and also serves Scouts in Kansas.

Quivira Council serves youth in south central Kansas, with headquarters in Wichita. Kansa Lodge #198, Order of the Arrow serves local Arrowmen. They currently operate three camps: Camp Kanza (Cub Scouts and Webelos), which provides the name for their Lodge; Quivira Scout Ranch (Scouts BSA and Venturers), at which they host their largest summer camp program each summer, and offer Black Jack Trail, an introduction to backpacking, twice a year; and Camp Mandan which serves units in the western side of the Council.

• High Plains District
• Kanza District
• Osage Nation District
• Pawnee District
• South Winds District
• White Buffalo District
• Santa Fe Trail District

The Quivira Council website http://www.quivira.org/ has links to each district.

There are three Girl Scout councils in Kansas.

The Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland serves more than 16,000 girls and nearly 5,000 adult volunteers in 80 counties in Kansas.

It was formed by the merger of six councils in 2008:

• Girl Scouts of Central Kansas,
• Girl Scout Council of The Flint Hills,
• Girl Scouts of Sunflower Council,
• Girl Scouts Wheatbelt Council,
• Girl Scouts of Tumbleweed Council, and
• Girl Scouts of The Golden Plains Council

Headquarters: Wichita, Kansas

Website: http://www.girlscoutskansasheartland.org

Camps:

• Starwoods Outdoor Center is 160 acres (0.65 km²) in Clearwater, Kansas
• Camp Four Winds near Leon, Kansas. It has a 13-acre (53,000 m²) lake.
• Camp Double E is 8.3 acres (34,000 m²) northwest of Emporia, Kansas

Girl Scouts of Missouri Heartland is mostly based in Missouri but serves girls in southeastern Kansas (Bourbon, Cherokee, and Crawford counties) and northeastern Oklahoma. See Scouting in Missouri for more information.

Headquarters: Springfield, Missouri

Website: http://www.girlscoutsrscmo.org

One of its camps is located in Kansas:

• Camp Friendship Fields in Crawford County

Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri (GSKSMO) supports girls in 47 counties across Kansas and Missouri. Its Kansas counties include Atchison, Anderson, Brown, Clay, Doniphan, Douglas, Geary, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Marshall, Miami, Nemaha, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Washington and Wyandotte counties.^[3]

It was established on August 1, 2007, with a merger of three councils: Girl Scouts of Kaw Valley Council, Girl Scouts of the Midland Empire, and Girl Scouts of Mid-Continent Council.^[4]

See Scouting in Missouri for more information.

Headquarters: Overland Park, Kansas^[3]

Website: http://www.gsksmo.org

Current Properties:

• Camp Tongawood is 80 acres (320,000 m²) near Tonganoxie, Kansas
• Camp Prairie Schooner is 176 acres (710,000 m²) in Kansas City, Missouri^[5]

Former Properties:

• Camp Daisy Hindman, founded in 1929, is 160 acres (650,000 m²) in Dover, Kansas near Topeka. In 2008, Camp Daisy ceased its resident camp programs.^[6] It was closed in 2017 and sold in 2018 due to low attendance.^[7][8]
• Camp Cutteru is near Junction City, Kansas. It was purchased by Extreme Kansas Camp, a Christian youth organization.^[9]
• Camp Timberlake was 72 acres (290,000 m²) near Stilwell, Kansas, but was sold in 2009 due to terrain issues.^[10]
• Camp ToKaVaCa near Topeka, Kansas. It was closed in 2008 and sold in 2009 as part of a long-range property de-acquisition project following the 2007 merger.^[6]

• Roy Williams (Scouting)
• Tribe of Mic-O-Say

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scouting in Kansas.

• Spanish Peaks Staff Association
• Spanish Peaks Scout Ranch
• Coronado Area Council
• Jayhawk Area Council
• Quivira Council
• Santa Fe Trail Council