History of Camp Lewis
was published by the Bayonne Coucil and written by Wes Kapec, a long-time member of the
council. The report was completed in 1984 and covered the following topics:
Original Camp Lewis and "New" Camp Lewis
Original lake and Lake Good Turn
Rosenthal Lodge
Additonal Structures
Water System
Ranger Residence
Acknowledgement of those who contributed to Camp Lewis's success
History of the BSA, Bayonne Boy Scouting, and Camp Lewis
was written by a committee of volunteers and published in 2023. As its title indicates,
this report touches on the origin of Boy Scouting in America and in Bayonne, and does
a deep dive into the history of Camp Lewis and its geographic surroundings. It covers
the following topics:
Origin of Boy Scouting in the U.K. and the U.S.
Origin of Bayonne Boy Scouting
Order of the Arrow
Scout Camps for Bayonne Scouts
Bayonne Council Troop Numbers
Rosenthal Family History and the Founding of Maidenform
Rockaway Township History and Iron Mining
Split Rock Reservoir
History of Camp Lewis
In addition, the report is filled with many fascinating little-known facts and
interesting anecdotal stories. This is a must read for anyone
with even the slightest interest in Camp Lewis history.
The history of Camp Lewis that follows is, for the most part, a synopsis of the two aforementioned reports and includes several excerpts from these reports. In some instances the reports differ slightly. In such cases, the "story" that is provided below is the one that seems to be more probable.
Pre Camp Lewis
Camp Lewis was not the first, nor was it the one-and-only summer Camp used by the Bayonne Boy Scouts. Records show that Bayonne scouts spent their summers at Camp Pamrapo on Lake Kanowahke in Haverstraw, New York, from 1919 through 1929. Newspaper articles from the time note that the camp was shared by the Bayonne and Hoboken Councils, but Bayonne maintained control of the operation.
In 1930, Bayonne scouts began using Camp Brady - a tract of land at Lake Hopatcong donated by Jerome Brady of the Consumers Coal & Ice Company located at Avenue E and 22nd Street. It appears the camp was used exclusively by the Bayonne Council and its use as the council's summer camp continued through the 1938 season.
Camp Lewis
In 1939 Camp Lewis came into being. It owes its existence to the generosity of Ida and William Rosenthal, two of the co-founders of the Maidenform Corporation. Camp Lewis was endowed to scouting to honor the memory of their son Lewis (1907-1930) who died at age 23 while a student at Columbia University Law School. Legend says that Lewis had drowned and the Rosenthals wanted to provide a location where youth could learn how to swim. In reality, Lewis died of meningitis.
Ida and William Rosenthal - to whom many Bayonne Boy Scouts are most grateful
Original Camp Lewis
The Camp Lewis that we know today was not the original Camp Lewis. That distinction goes to a 24-acre tract of land in Asbury, NJ, on the Musconetong River. The camp was fully utilized from 1939 - 1941 and memorialize to Lewis Rosenthal with a monument bearing his name.
The camp was suited to accomodated twenty-five to thirty boys each week. But with the popularity of the Boy Scouts growing, the camp quickly became too small, hosting upwards of 100 scouts per week. This exceeded the BSA's National Council recommendation for camp-space of one well-wooded acre per scout. Consequently, there was an immediate need for a larger camp.
"New" Camp Lewis
In the autumn of 1941, it was learned that the Union Council wished to dispose of 189 acres in their possession; an old lumber camp in Marcella, NJ. Knowing the needs of the Bayonne Council, Union Council gratiously agreed to donate the land to them. On December 30, 1943, the land was formally purchased by the Rosenthal Family for the sum of one dollar and then donated to the Bayonne Council. To coincide with this transition, the Rosenthal Family sold the original Camp Lewis and applied the assets of the sale to the development of the new Camp Lewis.
The first “test-run season” at the “New Camp Lewis”, as it was called in 1942, was reportedly successful, although the camp had no permanent structures or improvements. Note that this camp season, as well as the camp season of 1943, occurred prior to the formal sale of the camp property to the Bayonne Council in December 1943, implying that Union Council hosted Bayonne Council as its guest.
Alas, the search for a permanent summer camp that could support the growing needs of the Bayonne Council was done. The monument honoring Lewis Rosenthal was moved from the old Camp Lewis to the parade grounds of the new Camp Lewis where it still resides today.
Over time, rudimentary facilities were constructed and the scouts used the camp year round. Gradually, over the next 40 years, more and more facilities and upgrades were added. A timeline of some of the highlights is shown below.
A Swimming Hole
One of the first major improvemnts to the camp, in 1946, was the creation of a "swimming hole". This was accomplished by constructing a concrete wall to dam-up a creek bed. The swimming area was approximately 100 feet long by 50 feet wide. It was sufficient for cooling off on a hot summer day, but not large enough to accommodate boating or canoeing activities.
To showcase this new recreational space, the swimming hole was pictured on a Camp Lewis post card. The wall of the dam, along which scouts walked, was treacherously narrow, and the rope ladder along the sloping rock of the left bank was equally perilous. By today's standards the camp would have been shut down. But in its time, for many Boy Scouts from Bayonne, this was a part of paradise.
Rosenthal Dining Hall
August 10, 1948, lives as a "Landmark Day" for Camp Lewis. This was the day on which our beautiful iconic fieldstone dining hall was dedicated to William and Ida Rosenthal.
This was the first permanent structure at the camp. Intended as a mess and recreation hall, it was erected at a cost of $19,000 and built as a gift from the Rosenthals. The presentation ceremony was a star-studded event attended by Joel Johnson, President of the Bayonne Council, Donald Stevens, Bayonne Scout Executive, George Kamper, President of the Kiwanis Club, Charles Fiumefreddo, President of the Rotary Club and Ida Rosenthal, along with more than 200 scouts.
Operation Good Sport
Perhaps due to Boy Scouting's early ties to the military, many of the projects undertaken at Camp Lewis were given operation code names. The first such project was Operation Good Sport. This was initiated by Dave Edwards, the plant manager of the Esso Standard Oil Bayonne refinery and Hank Koenigsberg, the union president.
The plan called for Esso employees to volunteer time on weekends to help improve the camp. Many of the plant’s employees had boys in scouting, or were involved themselves, so there was a high level of enthusiasm. This marked the beginning of a great partnership between Camp Lewis and the employees of Esso. In the years to come, several other corporate and local businesses and their employees will join the spirit of volunteerism for the benefit of Camp Lewis.
Throughout the 1950’s, camp flourished with the assistance of Esso, who generously completed numerous projects such as improving roads, enlarging campsites, and erecting buildings. In the summer of 1955 a structure was erected at a cost of $5,000 and served as the camp’s headquarters building. It served as the administrative offices, first aid station, camp director’s quarters, and trading post.
Operation Good Scout
a.k.a., Lake Good Turn
Perhaps the largest project undertaken was the creation of the lake. In the mid-1950s a marshy area in the center of the camp had been identified as a possible location to create an artificial lake. In July 1956 the Morris County Soil Conservation Service was asked to survey the area and determine if creating a lake basin was feasible. After reviewing the location, soil, water source, and test borings, they granted approval.
In the autumn of 1957 work began on clearing trees and brush from the area. Each Bayonne troop was asked to assist and along with help from the Order of the Arrow, the land was cleared over the next six months. By April 1958 engineering surveys were complete and work began on “Operation Good Scout” as it was known.
Reports note that hundreds of Esso employees, union members, office workers and scouting volunteers assisted with the project. Bulldozers, trucks, winches, and excavtion tools supplied by Esso were used to excavate the area, approximately two acres in size. Some 3,000 cubic yards of removed soil was used to create an earthen dam, which contained a roadway atop the berm, fondly known over the years as The Dam Road.
The spring was a wet one and the weather caused some delays and frustrations. According to one account, a large bulldozer was left in the lake basin overnight. There was some heavy rain and the next morning the bulldozer was almost completely submerged in the clay of the basin. While frustrating to the many volunteers, it was just another hurdle that was successfully cleared.
Surprisingly, the actual dredging of the basin to form the lake was completed in one day. A Bayonne Times article noted, “Some machine work may need to be done after Saturday, so some equipment will be left and finished the next weekend if necessary.” Another article described the enthusiasm of the scouts: “The scouts rooted the workers on as they saw visions of swimming, boating and fishing developing into a reality.”
When completed, a nearby stream was redirected to the basin and the process of filling the lake began. Historical accounts indicate that because of an unusually dry season, the lake - named Lake Good Turn after the Boy Scout motto - filled slowly, only reaching a depth of five feet by the start of the 1958 camping season.
Lake Good Turn was formally dedicated on August 9, 1958 with a picnic for the volunteers who helped build the lake and construct other facilities throughout the camp. Hundreds were in attendance including Ida Rosenthal and Bayonne Mayor Alfred Brady.
Field of Dreams
Similar to the building of Lake Good Turn, but to a much lesser extent, in the following year Esso (now Exxon) volunteers spearheaded the effort to clear an area for an athletic field. Bringing in heavy equipment once again, a regulation-size football field was built. The field saw extended use beyond scouting as the Bayonne High and Saint Peters College football teams used it as a training site.
Eventually the clearing became known as Field Sports and over the years its functions grew to include an archery area, a rifle range with a wooden platform and overhead cover, a military training style obstacle course, a softball field with a chainlink backstop, and a makeshift unpaved basketball court.
Campsites and Chapels
1959 and 1960 continued to be growing years for Camp Lewis. The first campsite, built with Adirondack-type shelters, was erected in April 1959. Volunteers from Exxon, Explorer Post 27, and Ship 19 were on hand to lay the forms, and vloluneers from the Bayonne Nickel Company poured the concrete for the bases of the lean-tos. The campsite was named Frontier. The lean-tos were arranged like a wagon-train circle on a flat sectioin of land on the right side of the road as one heads towards the lake.
In 1960 a second lean-to campsite of the same Adirondack style was built on the opposite side of the road, further back into a more wooded and hilly section. Consequently, the lean-tos were situated linearly progressing up the hill. This campsite was named Major Roy in honor of Major Warren Roy, Scoutmaster of Bayonne Troop 1 for 49 years and Directory of the Central YMCA.
Also, in June of 1960, 100 volunteers from Exxon, Electro Dynamics, Baker Castor Oil, and Troop 19 built the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish chapel structures to accommodate the religous needs of scouts, particulary during the middle weekend of a summer camp period.
Road to Volunteerism
As work continued, the spirit of volunteerism spread throughout Bayonne and business, industry and labor groups joined forces. Participants included: Esso, Texaco, General Dynamics, Electro Dynamics, Baker Castor Oil, Bayonne Block, Bayonne Plumbing, Bayonne Bolt, Bayonne Nickel, Hudson Iron, Palmer Asphalt, Birk Paint, Nadel Paint, the International Association of Machinists, Bricklayers Local 13, The Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union, the Bayonne Chapter of Unico, and the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, among others. As one news report noted, “Volunteers said they not only felt they were contributing to a worthwhile cause, but they had a good time in the process.”
In June 1959, the main camp road was regraded and improved as is had become nearly impassible over the years. While widening the roadway, large boulders and rock shelves were uncovered and traditional jackhammers proved useless. The solution came from one of the volunteer groups - the Hudson Iron Company, who drilled into the rock and blew it apart with dynamite. The result was, as the Bayonne Council noted, “a smooth, safe roadway of crushed stone.” Despite the kind words by the Council, it was still quite a rocky road as it showed little concern for many mufflers and tailpipes of the 1960s.
Long-Term Master Plan
In 1962-1963, a study of Camp Lewis was undertaken by an engineering consultant to develop a long-range master plan for camp improvements. The objectives included the construction of a camp ranger residence, an upgraded administration building, a medical building, two enclosed villa-style buildings, warehouse and storage garages, parking lots, new shower facilities, rifle range, and camp director’s quarters. Additionally, it was determined that to comply with the National Council regulation requiring resident camps to maintain a three-day supply of water, a larger water storage tank would be required.
Early in 1965, the Bayonne Council sought and obtained a $50,000 grant from the Hayden Foundation to help initiate the long-range plan. (The Charles Hayden Foundation seeks to promote the mental, moral and physical development of youth and provide the skills necessary for satisfying and productive lives). With the grant from the Hayden Foundation and volunteers, the Council was able to construct the ranger's residence, the warehouse, the maintenance and storage building, the truck garage, the present administration building with a staff lounge, and the rifle range. Apparently, 1965 was a good year for stretching the dollar!
Operation Water Mountain
As summer attendance continued to grow, the need to address the water supply issue was prioritized. On July 25, 1966 “Operation Water Mountain” began. A new 10,000 gravity-fed tank system along with over 1,100 feet of piping was added to the exising 2,500 gallon system to provide water to the dining hall, showers, and campsites. The 12,500 gallon gravity-fed capacity of water enabled the camp to meet the BSA National requiremnt of a 3-day water supply as insurance against a pump breakdown at the camp's well.
Operation Tiger Heights
The years of 1967 - 1970 were the start and completion of four additional projects outlined in the camp's long-term plan. On May 23, 1967, Operation Tiger Heights began. This operation included the addtion of a new campsite named Tiger Heights that included a shower facility, and a 1,000 square foot shelter named Tiger Villa. The villa was a pre-cut, half-finished log shelter shipped to camp and erected over previously poured concrete slabs. It included a fireplace and electric heater, and could comfortably house 30 overnight campers. The campsite and the villa owe their names to the Exxon advertising slogan of the time, "Put a Tiger in Your Tank".
The Tiger Heights campsite, located just beyond the Outpost campsite on the opposite side of the trail, was ready for the 1967 summer camp season. Tiger Villa was erected the following June.
In 1969 the Rosenthal Lodge, now more commonly known as the mess hall, received its first major exterior makeover after 21 years.
Operation Deep Freeze
Sometime in the early 1970s, the Hayden Foundation once again awarded a grant to the Bayonne Council. This time for $18,000. This provided for the construction of Hayden Villa and the Hayden Chalet. The project was labeled Operation Deep Freeze. Both structures had a fireplace, electicity, and an electric heater. The Chalet, intended for use by the senior staff, also had a water and sewer system. Exxon, along with the Hudson County Bricklayers Union, Burnett Electric, and Devlin Plumbing were major contributors to the project. The addiition of these two structures marked the completion of the building requirements of the long-term plans.
Health Lodge
The final building constructed at Camp Lewis was the medical health lodge, funded by the Kiwanis Club and completed in 1971. The facility was dedicated to Dr. Samuel J. Penchansky, a former scout and very active adult volunteer. The following year, with funds provided by the Bayonne Chapter of Unico, a second shower facility was completed. The was the last of any major projects for the next eleven years.
Road Work
For nearly half a century, the road leading down the hill to the camp's parade grounds was a precarious little stretch of roadway with narrow bends and jutting rocks. Year after year erosion compounded the problem. Finally, in 1983, a $10,000 grant was obtained from the Hayden Foundation to improve the road. In conjunction with a US Army Reserve engineering battalion, who graded the road as part of their weekend duty and a private contractor who supplied black-top, the road was paved and ready for use for the 1983 summer camping season. Mufflers, tailpipes, and transmissions could now safely transit into camp!
Council Mergers
Under the Bayonne Council, Camp Lewis ran successful summer programs from 1942 until 1993 when the BSA began to merge and consolidate local councils, primarly due to decreasing enrollment in scouting. In that year the Bayonne Council was merged with Alexander Hamilton Council of Jersey City, forming the newly named Hudson-Hamilton Council.
In 1998, Hudson-Hamilton was merged with councils from Bergen, Essex, and Passaic Counties to form the Hudson Liberty Council. A decision in 1999 to divide the state into three areas resulted in additional mergers and the formation of the Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey Councils. The Northern New Jersey Council was formed January 1, 1999, as a result of the consolidation of units within Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Passaic Counties.
June 2000, Camp Lewis was reopened as Northern New Jersey Council’s Cub Scout summer resident camp. Since then, it has once again offered summer programs to Cub and Webelos Scouts as well as weekend camping for Troops. It continued in this capacity through 2023.
Final Flag Lowering
The council mergers led to the Northern New Jersey Council owning or operating multiple camps and it became increasingly difficult to keep all the camps fully funded and operational. Sadly, in 2024 Camp Lewis was deemed to close. The final flag lowering ceremony was conducted on June 2. More than 100 current and former camp staffers assembled on the parade grounds that Saturday evening to bid farewell to the camp. As the bugle sounded in the distance, the American Flag was lowered from its mast for the last time to symbolically represent the closing of the camp. Camp Lewis was officially closed the following month on July 2.
Today the State of New Jersey owns approximately 5,000 acres within Rockaway Township, including Farny State Park, the Wildcat Ridge Wildlife Management Area, and the property of Camp Lewis, allowing it to be used for scouting purposes but protecting the land as open space in perpetuity.
