Old Blackhawk

Moving east, we come to Old Blackhawk! It was called camp Blackhawk like the modern-day one, but was loacted about a mile east. It’s first year of operation appears to have been either 1925 or 1926, more on that in the section on Camp Pioneer. It opened for a brief period in 1926, but was closed with the depression in 1932. In 1949, it was re-opened until the new Blackhawk was built in 1979. This one did have a dining hall, (The Alfred Stern Lodge) which was built in 1925, with its foundation actually remaining to this day, though the wood and everything else is long gone. It’s a short walk from the Blackhawk fire bowl. The dining hall was unique in the way it was built, it was pretty much a wood frame with metal mesh surrounding it and a roof. If you’ve ever been to Camp Freeland Leslie, it was kind of like a smaller version of that dining hall with mesh walls. Much of what we know about the program areas and operations of Old Blackhawk come in the second phase of its operation, from 1949 to 1979. As a result, we'll distinguish when there was a difference between these two incarnations. On the trail to the old dining hall, you’ll see a concrete slab, which used to be the Handicraft and Offices, this seemed to remain the same throughout both incarnations. Nearby, you’ll also see one of the sanitation units, or Kybos. 

These likely weren’t built until the second incarnation, and were likely made during the 1940s. They only consisted of a sink and toilets, to take a shower you had to go to designated shower stalls behind the Dining Hall. In the first incarnation, there doesn’t appear to have been any showers, only a pump. There were many other differences as well. The first incarnation of Old Blackhawk had a nature cabin by the lake as well as a Sea-Scout specific cove. This area would become the normal waterfront area in the second incarnation. The first incarnation also had their campsites named after Indian Peoples, including Menominee, Ottawas, and Sacs. The second seemed to keep a lot of the campsites the same, but instead went to numbering them like normal. The first incarnation also had a rope bridge, which was absent later on. The second incarnation, however, had many other aspects that the earlier version didn’t. It had an Archery and Shotgun range to the south near its entrance, as well as protastant and catholic chapels on opposite sides of the camp. Both incarnations, however, seemed to share the same council ring, or firebowl. This fire bowl is still in use as the current Blackhawk Firebowl. 

The First Incarnation of Blackhawk, from 1926-1932