Girl Scout Camp Closures in Indiana

Indiana

Vincennes Girls, Inc.

Camp Wildwood

After three year battle, control of Camp Wildwood is returned to local control from Girl Scouts of Southern Illinois, GSOFSI, May 2013 by the Indiana Supreme Court.

"The Contracts Clause of the Indiana Constitution protects vested contract rights, including agreed contractual restrictions on land use, against retroactive impairment. Here, one Scouting organization deeded its campground to another on the condition that the Scouting use continue for 49 years, with the deed providing that ownership of the campground would revert to the original owner (the grantor) if the Scouting-use condition was breached during that time. We con2cludethat the Contracts Clause of the Indiana Constitution protects the enforceability of this 49-yearland use limitation despite a subsequently enacted statute,Indiana Code section 32-17-10-2,that purports to limit reversionary clauses in land transactions to a maximum of 30 years."

Former Indiana Girl Scouts camp reopens after lengthy legal battle
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/former-indiana-girl-scouts-camp-reopens-after-lengthy-legal-battle

A former Girl Scouts camp in southwestern Indiana that was embroiled in a long legal dispute over its ownership has reopened under the control of a local group.

Nearly 100 people gathered Wednesday evening for the rededication of Vincennes' 10-acre Camp Wildwood, which is now managed by the Camp Wildwood Foundation.

Camp Wildwood Fight
http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/news/local/southern_indiana/camp-wildwood-fight#.Ubqmsuu2B40

Local scout leaders have tried to reclaim ownership of the property saying the closing broke an agreement made in the 1960's.

Right now about the only people getting any good out of Camp Wildwood are the vagrants and the vandals, something local girl scout leaders want to see changed.

"If they wanted to use it and use it for girl scout purposes that would be great," said Vincennes Girls Inc. board member Bob Lechner, "but you see they are wanting to sell the property."

Camp Wildwood Decision
Justices Put Girl Scout Camp Back To Local Control
http://www.wthitv.com/dpp/news/local/southern_indiana/camp-wildwood-decision#.Ubqoeuu2B40

Vincennes Girl Scouts operated Camp Wildwood for decades until a re-organization put it in the hands of an Illinois based Girl Scout Council that then attempted to sell it.

Local groups fought the deal and the legal fight ended in the Indiana Supreme Court.

Now, the camp is now back in local control.

For the last 3 years Camp Wildwood has been locked away from kids in this community, tied up in an adult legal fight between Vincennes Girls Inc. and the Southern Illinois Girl Scout Council.

Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, GSWO

See also Illinois
See also Wisconsin

Camp Apple Acres, Chesterton

Currently "rested"

Camp Meadowbrook, Liberty Township

"Rested" in 2011
Sold February 2013 to Shirley Heinze Land Trust

Council Property Study on Apple Acres
http://girlscoutsofgreaterchicagoandnorthwestindiana.businesscatalyst.com/media/files/camp/apple_acres.pdf

Land trust buys former Girl Scouts camp in Liberty Township
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/valparaiso/land-trust-buys-former-girl-scouts-camp-in-liberty-township/article_121e154f-433b-5a5f-a91d-e97ed044c8ab.html

For about a year, the organization negotiated to buy the property from the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. The Girl Scouts retired the facility after completing a two-year, volunteer-led, long-range planning review of all its properties in 2011.

Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, GSCI

Camps below decision to sell announced 2010

Camp Munsee, Muncie

Sold to Red-tail Conservancy ~2010

Camp Windigo, Upland

Sold to Red-tail Conservancy 2010 or 2011

Camp Treaty Line, Certerville,
Camp Hawthorne Trails, Zionsville

Camp Talitha, Crawfordsville

Sold ~2012, exact date unknown

Other camps

Camp Tanglewood, Anderson, IN

Camp sold after merger to Anderson School District Coorporation.
Local volunteers now raise money to pay yearly $2,500 lease so girl scouts can use the camp.

Belmont Preserve and Outdoor Education Center, Belmont, IN

Sold to The Nature Conservancy in 2010
Camp belonged to Tulip Trace GS Council prior to merger, possibly sold due to merger.

From Save Camps:
Here's an extraordinary success story for you. Red-tail Conservancy has reached our goal to raise $150,000 to save Camp Munsee, the former Girl Scout camp outside Muncie, IN.

We have signed a sales agreement with the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, and by the first of the year, we hold title to this magnificent 47-acre hardwood forest.

Girl Scouts to sell Camps Munsee, Windigo
http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20100524/NEWS01/5240310/Girl+Scouts+to+sell+Camps+Munsee++Windigo?gcheck=1

Following the results of a study done by Kaleidoscope, a property consulting firm, the GSCI board of directors have opted to sell the nearly 60-year-old camp, along with three other properties in the central Indiana region.

Girls Scouts selling camps in four Indiana counties
http://indianaeconomicdigest.com/main.asp?SectionID=31&SubSectionID=223&ArticleID=53627&TM=33982.1

“At the heart of this decision was doing what we believe is best in meeting the needs of the girls and what is best for them,” remarked Potterf. She added that the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana will ensure that all persons involved in Girl Scouts will be able to learn leadership and other skills in an outdoor environment at the remaining properties.

“Selling these four properties will allow the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana to grow its five other properties and maintain them with the upmost quality and safety for our members,” said Potterf.

Girl Scouts Seek to Keep Camp Tanglewood Open
http://heraldbulletin.com/local/x1084952201/Girl-Scouts-seek-to-keep-Camp-Tanglewood-open

One reason it’s important to keep Tanglewood running is that the next-closest camp to Madison County is Dellwood, near Indianapolis. The time and cost of the trip to Indianapolis, according to Craig, would be prohibitive for some of the 40-170 Girl Scouts from Madison County who participate at Camp Tanglewood each year.

Good Times at Camp Tanglewood
http://heraldbulletin.com/local/x1424062488/Good-times-at-Camp-Tanglewood

After a council merger a few years ago, Camp Tanglewood was sold by the Girl Scouts to Anderson Community School Corporation. Craig said the three Girl Scout service units in Madison County sell cookbooks as a way to raise money and pay the $2,500-a-year lease for the camp. Madison County Girl Scouts use the camp year round for meeting, events and camping.

Volunteers fear Girl Scout camp will be sold (Belmont Preserve and Outdoor Education Center)
http://www.wthr.com/story/10749295/volunteers-fear-girl-scout-camp-will-be-sold?client

Longtime Girl Scout volunteers Alice Oestreich and Sue Dukeman say a reported $1.2 million debt that the Bloomington-based Tulip Trace Council incurred over the past few years has added to their fears that Camp Belmont may be sold after the consolidation.
They said the financial woes have been kept from them and other volunteers who've dedicated much of their lives to girls and scouting.

Camp Belmont covers 283 acres in scenic Brown County's hill country. It was donated to the Girl Scouts decades ago by sex researcher Alfred Kinsey and his wife, Clara.

Dukeman said that when she questioned Tulip Trace board member Kathleen Boggess about the camp's possible sale, she got an answer that confirmed her fears and also suggests that the Girl Scouts' new headquarters on Ind. 46 may go on the market.

"Can you find us a million dollars to pay for our building?" Boggess asked in an e-mail to Dukeman. "In the realignment, if and when it happens, both properties will likely get sold. We don't want this, but it may have to happen."

Tulip Trace board president Sue Wanzer would not confirm the council's million-dollar debt. Girl Scouts USA is a private organization whose financial records and other information are not readily available to the public.

But Wanzer said that if the Tulip Trace's merger with a Scout council in Indianapolis goes through as planned, it's quite possible that Camp Belmont, officially called the Belmont Preserve and Outdoor Education Center, could be sold.

Nature Conservancy to the rescue
http://wildindiana.com/wps/2010/01/nature-conservancy-to-the-rescue/

Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana, GSNIM

See also Michigan

Camp Singing Hills, Elkhart County

Announcement to sell September 2010
Sold at auction April 2011

Girl Scouts council to sell Elkhart County camp
http://www.elkharttruth.com/article/20100905/NEWS01/309059973

Mary Charles, interim chief executive officer of GSNIM, said the divestiture came as a result of a shift in priorities. In October 2009, the council signed on to the national organization's new programming model, "Girl Scout Leadership Experience." Officials decided to look at the financial viability of keeping five properties open while trying to fund the new model.

Swan song awaits? Group trying to save camp on the auction block
http://goshennews.com/local/x930488993/Swan-song-awaits/print

In late 2010, the board of directors of Girl Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana announced plans to close the 238-acre camp, founded in Middlebury on Oct. 28, 1966, as part of a realignment of the district. Since that announcement, Learning Opportunities Coordinator/Trainer Will Menges, part of Service Unit #601, and 11 others organized the Friends of Camp Singing Hills in an attempt to save the camp from closure.

The group’s original goal was to work with members of the Girls Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michiana board to save the camp from within, turning it into a more profitable business to ensure its retention. After being snubbed by the board in multiple attempts to speak on the topic at its meetings, it seemed like progress would be made at its February meeting, but that hope was short-lived

Former Elkhart County Girl Scout camp sold in auction
http://articles.wsbt.com/2011-04-12/girl-scout-camp_29411954

More than 200 acres of property at a former Girl Scout camp near Middlebury were auctioned off Monday night.

A group of concerned parents and former scouts had tried to save Camp Singing Hills. They’re still hoping part of the future plans for the site could include scouting.

Monday night, the 238-acre site that formerly housed Camp Singing Hills went up for sale. The decision to part with it was made by the board of directors of the Girls Scouts of Northern Indiana-Michigan. Charlie Kline, along with a friend of his, bought the majority of it.

“And it is our intention to just keep it intact some years down the road, we may put a hunting cabin or a small family residence,” said Kline. “As far as keeping it as pristine native and like it currently is, it’s our intention from now on.