Camp Robert Drake

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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Scouting in Illinois. (Discuss)

Camp Robert Drake is a Boy Scout camp facility located near Oakwood, Illinois (although the property is addressed in Fairmount, Illinois). The camp property is owned and operated by Prairielands Council, headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. The facility is used primarily during the summer as a resident camp for Boy Scout and Cub Scout units, and a half-week Venturing camp.

1 History
2 Summer Camp Programs
3 Other Uses
4 See also
5 References
6 External Links

[edit] History

At the time the Champaign-Urbana Council was formed in 1919, the Council used a small facility at Weldon Springs called Camp Hatetokwitit, for a majority of its Scout camping. A tract of land outside of Oakwood, Illinois was acquired for the new council camp with financial assistance from the Rotary Club. The camp was founded in 1932 and is named for Robert J. Drake, Champaign-Urbana Council's Scout Executive, who oversaw the purchase of the property but died of Scarlet Fever in 1929 before the camp was opened. Robert Drake is buried with his wife outside of Chicago, Illinois ^[1]

The camp opened for the inaugural camping season on June 13, 1932. Camp Drake is one of the nation's oldest council-owned and operated Scout camps in the nation.^[2] In 2007, the camp will be celebrating its 75th continuous year of operation.^[3]

[edit] Summer Camp Programs

The programs at Camp Robert Drake are annually accredited by the National Camping School of the Boy Scouts of America. The camp runs five weeks of camp aimed for Boy Scouts, three half-week camps designed for Cub Scouts and Webelos, and one half-week session designed for Venturing.