Camp May Flather, the flagship of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, turns 95 in 2025. This is the first in a series of posts about the property.
We Need a Permanent Girl Scout Camp!
The District of Columbia Girl Scout Council was chartered in 1917, but more than a dozen years later, summer camps were still taking place on borrowed land. Washington’s Girl Scouts still had no resident camp to call their own. Individual troops might borrow a lodge or farm for a weekend, but summers called for swimming and sessions of at least two weeks.
Well-connected troop parents in Washington DC used their contacts to find temporary sites for prospective campers.
Camp Bradley #1 (1919-1920)
In 1919 and 1920, many of Washington’s 2,000 registered Girl Scouts camped at Rosemont dairy farm, in nearby Rockville, Maryland.
Rosemont Farm was the home of Joseph H. Bradley, who had made a fortune in real estate and as president of Columbia Granite and Dredging Company. The Bradleys were a prominent family in the Washington region and interested in activities suitable for their young daughter, Mary.
Sprawling over 500 acres, Rosemont Farm had plenty of space far from civilization.
In 1919, the camp operated for six weeks, welcomed about two dozen girls at a time, and cost a mere $5 per week. Tents and other equipment were World War I surplus and erected by Marines. Some girls enjoyed the experience so much that they stayed all six weeks and couldn’t wait for 1921. Each session, the campers voted to name the site “Camp Bradley,” in honor of their host
Local Girl Scouts realized they needed a larger location in 1921 to meet demand. Mrs. Bradley had joined the Washington Council’s Camping Committee in 1920, and one of her first tasks was locating a site for summer 1921.
Camp Bradley #2 (1921-1926)
The Washington DC Council settled on a site adjacent to the new (1917) Edgewood Arsenal (now Aberdeen Proving Ground) in northern Maryland. That deal had been arranged by Brigadier General Amos Fries, chief of the Army’s Chemical Warfare Service, whose eldest daughter Elizabeth (see above) was in Washington Troop 8. Baltimore Girl Scouts also used the site.
General Fries dispatched soldiers to set up the camp, complete with wooden boardwalks and even electricity.
Do We Need a Permission Slip for Chemical Weapons?
This Camp Bradley offered plenty of traditional summer camp activities: swimming, archery, songs, arts and crafts, etc. But this location offered a unique opportunity: chemical weapons.
Many girls insisted that their favorite camp activity was getting to sample tear gas.
Girl Scouts Camp at Fort Foote (1927)
In 1927 girls stayed closer to Washington by using Fort Foote, a former Civil War-era garrison in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Located on a tall bluff, the site has dramatic views of the Potomac River.
The Girl Scout campers set up their own Army tents and used existing buildings for a commissary, kitchen, and assembly hall. Transportation was provided by bus and a US Navy boat.
The Army was considering selling the 66-acre site, which Army Quartermaster General Benjamin Cheatham appraised at $9,750. When the council was granted a license to continue using the camp in November 1927, they leapt into action, hoping for the opportunity to buy Fort Foote, if they could raise enough money.
Girl Scout Camp Fundraisers
A fund drive was organized for December 2-9. The council needed $55,000 for operating expenses, existing debt, and to secure a resident camp. Among other activities, troops demonstrated Girl Scout skills in the windows of a dozen Washington department stores while their leaders stood on the sidewalks outside with collection cups. (See clipping WP 1927 Dec 4).
Unfortunately, they only collected about $20,000 and could not make a bid for Fort Foote. The Council used the site for weekend camping instead.
Where IS Girl Scout Camp This Year?
Ten years after it was chartered in 1917, the Washington DC Girl Scouts was still nomads, in terms of resident camping sites.
Even with today’s highway system, these sites were a long way from Washington DC.
In 1928 girls went to Camp Matoaka in St. Leonards, Maryland, on land loaned by Mrs. James Alburtus.
Resident camp moved to Rawley Springs, Virginia, in 1929.
This sprawling site in the Allegheny Mountains was near Rapidan, President Herbert Hoover’s mountain getaway.
And, there was another site, not far from Rawley Springs, that might make a good permanent camp, if the Girl Scouts could raise $25,000 for a lodge and other infrastructure. It was a tremendous amount, especially at the onset of the Great Depression. If only they could find a benefactor…
to be continued
© 2025 Ann Robertson, writer, editor, Girl Scout historian, but NOT a Girl Scout employee.
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