Scouting in California has a long history, from the 1910s to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs related to their environments.
Early history (1910–1950) In the early days of ″Scouting″ there were several different ″Scouting″ type organizations. Some of the organizations known to have members in California were: American Boy Scout (also known as the United States Boy Scout organization) Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Girl Scouts of the USA California Boy Scouts Peace Scouts of California
The Boy Scouts of United States (a wing of the National Highway Protective Association), Young Men's Christian Association and the Salvation Army may have also had ″Scouting″ type programs in California.
In 1914, parents and Chinese-American boys organized their own Boy Scout troop in San Francisco, the first troop for Chinese Americans and possibly the first troop in San Francisco. It was recognized as Troop 3 once San Francisco became a council. The troop continues today.-
Girl Scouting officially started in California by 1917 when Lou Henry Hoover helped form a troop in Palo Alto. In 1922 the first service unit in the western United States, Service Unit 1, was set up in Palo Alto by Lou Henry Hoover, then president of the Girl Scouts of the US, and is now part of the Girl Scouts of Northern California council.
Recent history (1950–1990) The 1953 National Scout Jamboree was held at Irvine Ranch, California. Jamboree Road in Newport Beach, California was named to commemorate the site of the 1953 event.
The 1973 National Order of the Arrow Conference was held at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Boy Scouting in California today
There are twenty-four Boy Scouts of America local councils in California.
California Inland Empire Council
The California Inland Empire Council (CIEC) was formed in 1973 through the merger of the Arrowhead Area (#048) and Riverside Area Councils (#045). In 1974 Grayback Council (#024) also merged into the new council. In 2006, the council acquired the San Bernardino County portions of Old Baldy Council (#043). The council territory includes all of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.
Crater Lake Council
Crater Lake Council serves Scouts in Oregon and California.
Golden Empire Council
The Golden Empire Council (#047), first chartered in 1920, serves Scouts in a large section of Northern California, primarily the Sacramento Valley and the northern Sierra Nevada mountains. The council headquarters are located in Sacramento. The council covers 16 counties in Northern California: Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Solano, Shasta, Sierra, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Yolo, and Yuba counties.
Golden Gate Area Council
The SFBAC (#028) was formed by a merger of the San Francisco Area Council and Oakland Area Council in February 1964. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, serving the cities of Colma, Daly City (northern section), San Francisco, Emeryville, Oakland, San Leandro, Hayward, Fremont, Union City, Newark, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Livermore, as well as unincorporated communities such as Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, and Sunol. In June 1916, the Oakland-Piedmont Council (#021) was chartered, changing its name in 1921 to the Oakland Area Council after Piedmont elected to organize their own council. In January 1917, the San Francisco Council (#051) was chartered, changing its name in 1924 to the San Francisco Area Council.
Greater Los Angeles Area Council
The Greater Los Angeles Area Council (GLAAC) is the council made from the merger of the Los Angeles Area Council and the San Gabriel Valley Council. The vote to merge was held on March 21, 2015. The new name Council, Greater Los Angeles Area Council, was announced on June 11, 2015. The new Council will continue with Scouting Service centers in Los Angeles and Pasadena. GLAAC has three Scout shops in Los Angeles, San Pedro and Pasadena. GLAAC operates eight BSA Camps in the greater Los Angeles area. Due to the large size of the two original councils, the merger is a process that will be completed over a time span.
Greater Yosemite Council
The Greater Yosemite Council (#059) is a local council of the Boy Scouts of America based in Modesto, California. It was founded in 1920 as the Modesto Council. In 1921 Modesto changed its name to the Stanislaus County Council, and in 1922 to the Yosemite Area Council. In 1998, the council changed its name to the Greater Yosemite Council. In 1997, the Forty Niner Council (#052) merged with the Yosemite Area Council.
The Forty Niner Council was founded in 1918 as the Stockton Council. In 1922 Stockton changed its name to San Joaquin, and in 1929 to San Joaquin-Calaveras Council. In 1957, San Joaquin-Calaveras Council changed its name to Forty Niner Council.
Organization
The council reorganized eight districts into three in 2011. The 49er District. Calaveras District, and the Big Valley District were combined into the Gold Country District. The Chief Tenaya District and the Golden Heritage District, and Waukeen District formed the Sierra Valley District. The El Capitan District and the Wawona District became the Rio Del Oro District.
Camps
Camp John Mensinger Camp McConnell
Order of the Arrow
Toloma Lodge #64
Las Vegas Area Council
Formerly Boulder Dam Area Council, Las Vegas Area Council serves Scouts in Nevada, California and Arizona.
Long Beach Area Council
The Long Beach Area Council (LBAC), headquartered in Long Beach and founded in 1919, is one of five Boy Scouts of America councils in Los Angeles County, California.
Los Padres Council
The Los Padres Council was founded in 1917 as the Santa Barbara Council. The Santa Barbara Council changed its name in 1929 to the Mission Council and stayed that way until 1994. In 1994, the Santa Lucia Area Council merged with the Mission Council to form the Los Padres Council. The Santa Lucia Area Council (#056) was founded in 1933, as the San Luis Obispo County Council. The Central Coast Counties council (#025), founded in 1922 merged into Santa Barbara in 1924.
Marin Council
One of the four councils that serves the San Francisco Bay area, the Marin Council was formed in 1910. In 1918 it absorbed the Mill Valley and Sausalito Councils. The Marin County's Scouting community was born just six months after the national Boy Scouts of America organization in 1910.
Camps Camp Marin-Sierra (Chubb Lake) located in Emigrant Gap, CA. The camp features 320-acres of forested terrain with significant facilities, including Ibach And Murray lodges, a rifle, shotgun and archery range, full commercial kitchen, rock climbing wall, camp fire bowl and waterfront facilities. Marin Sierra hosts resident camp for Scouts BSA troops and Venture crews. The facility is also used year-round by various Scout units and is staffed by a full-time ranger. Camp Tamarancho located in Fairfax, CA. 412 acre camp available for year-round use, the camp has developed facilities including a full commercial kitchen, archery and rifle ranges, a chapel and both developed and primitive campsites. Tamarancho hosts BSA units from around Northern California as well as Marin Council programs such as Cub Scout day camp. The camp is staffed by a full time ranger. Surrounding the camp is one of the Bay Area’s largest network of maintained single-track mountain bike trails.
Order of the Arrow Talako Lodge #533
Nevada Area Council
Nevada Area Council serves approximately 14,000 youth through chartered organizations and BSA units in northern Nevada and northeastern California. The parts of California served by the NAC are Alpine County, Lassen County, Plumas County, the northern portion of Mono County, and the eastern portions of El Dorado County, Placer County, and Sierra County.
Orange County Council
Founded in 1920 as the Orange County Council, the council was formed by the merger of the North Orange Council (#037) and the Orange Empire Council (#039) in 1972. The North Orange Council was founded in 1944 as the Northern Orange County and changed its name to North Orange in 1965.
Orange County Council is one of the 20 largest councils by traditional membership in the nation. In 2008 it had over 40,000 youth members.
Pacific Skyline Council
One of the six councils that serves the San Francisco Bay area, the Pacific Skyline Council was founded in 1940 as the Stanford Area Council (#031). In 1994, the Stanford Area Council merged with the San Mateo County Council (#020) to form the current council.
Piedmont Council
The Piedmont Council (California) of BSA serves chartered organizations and BSA units located in the city of Piedmont, located in the East Bay hills and surrounded by the city of Oakland. The council was first chartered in 1921, and by some measurements is the smallest in the BSA, but has a high level of activity and serves a high percentage of the available youth living in Piedmont. Piedmont Council is one of the six councils that serves the San Francisco Bay Area.
Redwood Empire Council
Redwood Empire Council is the local council of the Boy Scouts of America that serves youth in Mendocino and Sonoma counties in California.
The Petaluma Council (#041) was founded in 1919, later named the Petaluma Area Council. This council renamed itself the Sonoma-Mendocino Area Council when the Scouting districts of northern Sonoma County and Mendocino County were separated from Silverado Area Council in 1942. In 1992, the Sonoma-Mendocino Council merged with the Redwood Area Council (#044), to form the Redwood Empire Council. The Redwood Area Council was founded in 1923.
San Diego-Imperial Council
The San Diego-Imperial Council is headquartered in San Diego, California, and serves youth members and volunteer leaders through Scout units in San Diego and Imperial counties of Southern California, as well as a portion of Arizona. Founded in 1916 as the Coronado Council, and the San Diego Council, in 1917 the two council merged to make the San Diego County Council (#049). Founded in 1922, the Imperial County Council (#029) changed its name to Imperial-Yuma Area Council in 1929, and changed the name again in 1959 to Desert Trails Council. In 1993 Desert Trails and San Diego County merged to become Desert Pacific Council. Desert Pacific Council was renamed to San Diego-Imperial Council on January 3, 2005.
Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council
Silicon Valley Monterey Bay Council (#055), the result of a council merger between the Santa Clara County Council and the Monterey Bay Area Council, is a Boy Scouts of America council headquartered in San Jose, California. As of 2022, the council serves over 9,200 youth in Boy Scout troops, Cub Scout packs, Venturing crews, and Explorer posts.
Sequoia Council (not to be confused with the Sequoyah Council located in Tennessee and Virginia)
The Sequoia Council serves Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare Counties in California. Founded in 1919 as the Fresno Council, it changed its name to Sequoia Council in 1925. In 1992, the Mount Whitney Area Council (#054) merged into Sequoia.
Southern Sierra Council
The Southern Sierra Council serves Kern, Inyo, and Mono counties in California. Founded in 1919 as the Bakersfield Council, it changed its name to the Kern County Council in 1921, and then to the Southern Sierra Council in 1965.
Ventura County Council
Ventura County Council of the Boy Scouts of America was officially chartered as Council 57 on June 23, 1921, after a series of meetings that followed a proposal put forward at a County Chamber of Commerce meeting on March 28, 1921 in the Masonic Hall. Mr. C. H. Whipple, then of Moorpark and later Oxnard, became the president; and Col. J.L. Howland became commissioner. Harvey R. Cheesman, an assistant Scout executive in the Los Angeles Council, became the first Scout Executive, assuming his duties on July 11.
Verdugo Hills Council