Our History
The Boy Scouts of America was founded on February 8, 1910 by a group of prominent Americans lead by Chicago newspaper publisher W.D. Boyce. Boyce received his chief inspiration from Lord Robert Baden-Powell, who founded Scouting in England in 1907.
In 1916 the Boy Scouts of America received a charter from the Sixty-Fourth Congress of the United States “to promote, through organization, and cooperation with other agencies, the ability of boys to do things for themselves and others, to train them in Scout craft, and to teach them patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred virtues, using the methods which are now in common use by the Boy Scouts.”
The Suwannee River Area Council dates back to 1924, when representatives from the territory between the Apalachicola River and Lake City met in Madison and established the Suwannee River Council, with Dr. Frederick Clifton Moor of Tallahassee as president. The word “Area” was added later, and by 1930, all 15 traditional counties of the Suwannee River Area Council were united under one banner.
Even though our council has been continuously chartered since 1924, scouting began much earlier in Florida’s Big Bend and Georgia’s Wiregrass region when these areas were predominantly rural. In August of 1912, businessman Will Watt, took a group of boys to Virginia to attend a scouting Jamboree. When they returned, the group started the first scouting troop in our area in Thomasville, GA. Afterward, in Tallahassee, Robert James Phillips, a master plumber and city councilman, led the effort to form a local troop. By December 1912, the Tallahassee Council had received its charter from Boy Scout headquarters in New York, and local boys were preparing to become Tenderfoot Scouts. Scouting spread quickly throughout our area.
Scouting flourished throughout the 20th century, with new programs and categories of membership. Cub Scouting and Sea Scouting began in the 1930s, and the Order of the Arrow made its first appearance. By the end of World War II, the Suwannee River Area Council’s membership had more than doubled to 4,626 Scouts.
In the 21st century, the most profound change has been the inclusion of girls and young women in the Scouting program. The original Boy Scout program was rebranded as “Scouts, BSA” in 2019, and all-female troops began forming in the Suwannee River Area Council. Coming in early 2025, the nationwide scouting organization will change its name from “Boy Scouts of America” to “Scouting America” to better reflect those that we now serve.
Today’s program begins with boys and girls in the first grade and includes young men and women in the high school aged Exploring program. Teaching youth and adults to make value judgments and the importance of traditional values continue to make the Scouting program strong.
The leadership of the council is dedicated to continue to expand the Scouting movement and to continue to be a proactive organization during our next century of scouting.
Click here for additional Suwannee River Area Council History
For a pictorial history (and more) of our council, please visit our online SRAC Museum of Scouting
