| Meet your Camp Directors | Interactive Map of Camp Lakota |
| Camp Lakota Forms | Map of Camp Lakota |
| Camp Lakota Summer Camp Weeks |
A Brief History of Camp Lakota
Camp Lakota first became in integral part of the Black Swamp Area Council when 225 acres of land south of Defiance, Ohio were set-aside as a Shawnee Council encampment. After being named in 1951, the camp began to serve the council as the exclusive spot for troop Summer Camping.
During the 1960s, the council purchased more land from the Village of Defiance with the intent of creating a man-made freshwater lake within the boundaries of Camp Lakota. This purchase brought the area of camp to over 700 acres, and our great 48-acre Lake Glengary was then finished in 1969. The area of camp surrounding the lake, which was contained south of Powell Creek, was named Camp Neil Armstrong in honor of the first human being to walk on the moon, who was a scout from within our council.
Over the years and the changes around camp, land was sold back to Defiance and Camp Lakota now covers about 640 acres of Northwest Ohio. Being originally a part of the Great Black Swamp, Camp Lakota is a relatively flat camp that contains amazing wooded areas, large grassy meadows, and trails that stretch along the banks of two natural tributaries, Powell Creek and the Auglaize River. The camp is located in an area previously inhabited by the Shawnee tribe of Eastern Woodland Indians, traversed by early settlers along an Old Wagon trail whose remnants are still visible to this day, and is only miles away from the location of man-made canals.
Every person who has ever set foot in Camp Lakota has felt the deep traditions shared in the woods by every man, woman, and child who has walked here. We celebrate Lakota’s rich traditions by naming all of our campsites after past Indian Chiefs like Tecumseh and Little Turtle, and naming our Dining Hall--Meecheway-- after the Indian name of the young kid-napped settler Oliver Spencer. These past 62 years have blessed the scouts and scouters who have entered our camp and many have left their mark with totems inside of Meecheway Lodge. These totems serve as documentation of the latest part of our land’s history: the time it spent aiding in the growth and development of countless young men.
For more information on the history of Oliver Spencer, visit this website.
http://www-brickell.defiance-city.k12.oh.us/completehistory.html
Also, check your local library for the book Indian Captivity written by Oliver Spencer himself.
Meet your Camp Lakota Directors
Interactive Map of Camp Lakota
Map of Camp Lakota (PDF 765 KB)
@ Copyright 2006 Black Swamp Area Council BSA
