Treasure Island Reservation
Tinicum Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Consisting of Treasure Island and Marshall Island. Home to one of the nation's oldest Boy Scout camps, established by the Philadelphia Council, B.S.A., in 1913. Birthplace of the Order of the Arrow, a national campers' honor society founded upon Native American traditions. Its Unami Lodge No. 1 was created here in 1915 by the camp's first director, E. Urner Goodman, and his assistant, Carroll A. Edson.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
On two wooded islands in the Delaware River, the Philadelphia Council established one of the country's oldest Boy Scout camps in 1913, in the first years of American Scouting. Two summers later, camp director E. Urner Goodman and his assistant Carroll A. Edson created the Order of the Arrow here—a camping honor society whose rituals drew on Native American traditions. Its founding Unami Lodge No. 1 gave rise to a program that would spread to Scout councils nationwide.
Why it matters
Treasure Island is the birthplace of the Order of the Arrow, a lasting institution of American Scouting that shaped outdoor and character education for generations of youth.
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Related people
- · E. Urner Goodman
- · Carroll A. Edson
Related events
- · Founding of the Order of the Arrow
Themes & tags
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