Camp Kline

Camp Kline. Building Scout Skills for Life. , Until the late 1700s, forests covered the land here. After serving as George Washington's wagon master during the Revolutionary War, Thomas Ramsey bought land in the Pine Creek Valley, built a sawmill, and cleared trees to make room for field crops and farm animals. John Bonnell, son of war veteran John Bonnell Sr., bought adjacent land. The Ramsey and Bonnell families farmed and logged this area until 1920, when local hardware merchant and Rotarian James Kline bought the land for the new Williamsport Boy Scout Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Camp Kline went on to serve thousands of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts over the next 70 years. , Early Camp KlineThe first Scouts at Camp Kline slept on steel cots in World War I surplus tents. They used the farmhouse as a dining hall until Williamsport's Vallamont Theater was dismantled, hauled to Camp Kline yia train, and rebuilt for dining. By 1927, camp attendance had risen to 379 boys., 'A Scout is helpful' , During the Great Depression, local Scouts collected furniture, bedding, and clothing for the needy, planted trees, assisted with voter registration, and distributed flyswatters for the Department of Health. Beginning in 1936, Camp Kline Sea Scouts helped nearby residents reach safety from floodwaters. During World War II, Boy Scouts collected tons of scrap materials needed for war and served as air raid messengers., Bridging Pine Creek , For decades, Scouts could reach Camp Kline only by boat. In 1955, a new 409-foot bridge over Pine Creek allowed campers to trek to camp across the largest suspension footbridge in the eastern United States. Hundreds of Scouts used the bridge each year until April 14, 1974, when the bridge collapsed during high winds, severely limiting camp access. Usage fell, although the property served as a high-adventure Scout base into the '90s. , Return to Recreation , In 2015, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources purchased Camp Kline and tore down the remaining buildings, most of which were no longer safe. Today, you can hike the area via trails built by Scouts and also rehabilitated by DCNR and volunteers. Permits for shelters and campsites are required and available by contacting the Tiadaghton Resource Management Center.