Camp Davis

An Engineer’s Paradise

“Camp Davis” (2018) by Nikolas Midttun. Photo courtesy: UofM Camp Davis Twitter

by Coby Bennett

Many University of Michigan students recognize Camp Davis as one of the most attractive aspects of the Earth and Environmental Science majors. Inside and outside the North University Building, the program’s home, large posters and videos both depict the beautiful scenery of the Camp Davis site in Jackson, Wyoming. As an Earth and Environmental Science major, I have had friends comment on how lucky I am to get to learn at such a beautiful site so close to some of our top national parks such as Yellowstone. However, many don’t fully understand the long and complex history of this camp which took nearly 150 years to reach its now idealized form.

Today, Earth and Environmental Sciences requires majors to perform one summer semester at the Wyoming camp site, performing field work and experiments pertaining to our fields of study. Since its renovations, which started in 2008 and finished in 2019, the Camp has been recognized for its modern amenities including solar-powered electricity, laundry services, internet and cellphone access, meal services, an on-site UM store where students can send and receive mail, and University transportation services (“Cabins & Daily Living”, “Camp Davis Comes to Wyoming”).

All of this plus the picturesque scenery creates quite a captivating image; however, Camp Davis’s beginnings were much humbler. Established in 1874 by then Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Joseph Baker Davis, it was “created to provide engineering students with an opportunity to learn about surveying the earth’s physical structure,” activities which had previously been conducted on campus (Burtka, “An Encyclopedic Survey”). Initially taught over four weeks by Professor Davis alone and held at various locations throughout Michigan, further efforts were necessary to establish a full time University of Michigan site to suit all of the students’ needs (“An Encyclopedic Survey”). In 1908 the University approved a sum of $3,500 for the purchase of approximately 1400 acres on Douglas Lake in Northern Michigan where classes were taught until the location changed again in 1929. After the purchase of the new land, “every summer… U-M students have headed west to Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station in Wyoming” (Burtka). Just four years later, geology students became the first non-engineers to attend Camp Davis, with the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences assuming control of the Camp in 1964 after engineering dropped field work as a requirement for the program (Burtka).

“Joseph Baker Davis.” Photo courtesy: UofM Faculty History Project.

The name “Joseph” itself has a long history, dating back to biblical times and translating from the Hebrew name Yosef, meaning “he will add” (Campbell). This definition is rather fitting for the man behind the camp’s name since he made quite a number of contributions to strengthen the academic experience of University of Michigan students and more.

Joseph Davis had a truly inspirational upbringing, being raised in poor, rural Massachusetts by a cousin of his grandfather, a maiden Quaker lady, after his mother passed away when he was just 7 months old (“Joseph Baker Davis”). He grew up attending several high schools, eventually attending the University of Michigan and graduating as a civil engineer in 1868 (“Joseph Baker Davis”). He worked several jobs related to engineering around the state of Michigan until he became a UM assistant professor in 1872, working his way up to Professor of Geodesy and Surveying in 1891 to finally become Associate Dean of the Department of Engineering in 1903 (“Joseph Baker Davis”).

Davis was also known for being a Chief Engineer of the St. Clair Flats Survey for the State of Michigan, member of the Michigan Engineering Society (of which he was president several times), and member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Davis worked relentlessly throughout his professional life to better the educational experiences of U M students and advance the field of engineering (Committee of University Senate). The University of Michigan Senate even went as far to publish a memorial just one month after Davis’s death in March of 1920 praising the late professor’s charisma and devotion to enhancement of the University experience (Committee of University Senate).

It should be in our best interest that we make more efforts as a campus community to recognize the people whose names mark our buildings and programs; not enough people know how significantly they have contributed to University of Michigan culture. Camp Davis is just one such example where the hard work and dedication of notable Michigan alumni goes unnoticed on a day-to-day basis, hidden behind the name of a structure or site.

Works Cited

Burtka, Jeff. “History Lessons: U-M's Nature Camp.” Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, 16 June 2022, https://alumni.umich.edu/michigan-alum/history-lessons-um-nature-camp/. Accessed 12 April, 2023

“Cabins & Daily Living.” University of Michigan Earth and Environmental Sciences, https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/camp-davis/courses/cabins-daily-living/. Accessed 12 April, 2023

Campbell, Mike. “Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Joseph.” Behind the Name, https://www.behindthename.com/name/joseph. Accessed 12 April, 2023

“Camp Davis Comes to Wyoming.” University of Michigan Earth and Environmental Sciences, https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/camp-davis/home/mission-and-history/. Accessed 12 April, 2023

“Joseph Baker Davis.” The University of Michigan Millennium Project, http://umhistory.dc.umich.edu/history/Faculty_History/D/Davis,_Joseph_Baker.html. Accessed 12 April, 2023

“The University of Michigan, An Encyclopedic Survey.” Edited by Wilfred B. Shaw, University of Michigan Library, University of Michigan, https://quod.lib.umich.edu/u/umsurvey/AAS3302.0004.001/1:2.8.3.2?rgn=div4%3Bsort. Accessed 12 April, 2023

University of Michigan, Committee of University Senate, Memorial. Joseph Baker Davis, professor of geodesy and surveying and associate dean in the Department of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, HathiTrust Digital Library, 28 February 2021, https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015071687441&view=1up&seq=11. Accessed 12 April, 2023

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