Camp Nanticoke, also known as Henson Scout Reservation, is a 1,500-acre Boy Scout camp on the banks of the Marshyhope Creek, in Dorchester County on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Thousands of Scouts have hiked its trails since its founding in 1965.

The camp will be celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2010. This site is aimed at documenting Nanticoke's history by collecting tales and memories from those who have shared the journey.

Leave your memories

Were you a camper here in that first summer of 1965? Did you help blaze the trails or campsites? Were you a Scouter who's taken time off and come with your troop or crew every year?

Is Red Banks a mythic site to you? Did your patrol win the Otayachgo award? Were you inducted into the Order of the Arrow here? Have you paddled the Marshyhope, climbed the Vertical Playpen or taken aim on the archery range?

Have you been a regular winter camper, freezing your fingers and toes as the wind blows in off the water? Or did you work on summer camp staff, cooking meals, teaching knots, leading nature hikes or running the boatyard?

If any of those describe you, please take a moment to write down your recollections and send them to us. We also welcome copies of photos, camp schedules, menus, postcards, songs and other documentation or memorabilia - anything you might have, from any era, that stirs your memories of Nanticoke and might help to bring it alive for others.

Please include as much information about yourself as possible - what troop you were in, what years you attended camp, what you're doing now, etc.

We'll post it all here as it comes in, and eventually hope to compile it into a book in 2010, marking the 45th anniversary.

 

How do I contact you?

We prefer that you e-mail your information to history@campnanticoke.org.

You can also write in care of Dan Shortridge, 17237 Pine Water Drive, Lewes, DE 19958.

Who we are

This site is edited and maintained by Dan Shortridge, a former Nanticoke camper and staff member. He grew up about 20 minutes from camp, in Laurel, Del., and his first memory of Nanticoke is sprinting down a trail in a Cub Scout chariot race in the 1980s. Dan served on staff for five years, from 1994 to 1998, as a counselor-in-training, assistant commissioner/Scoutcraft instructor and Scoutcraft director. He now works as a newspaper reporter in Delaware.

Who we aren't

This project is neither sponsored by nor affiliated with Henson Scout Reservation, Camp Nanticoke, the Del-Mar-Va Council or the Boy Scouts of America. We do not handle marketing, information requests or reservations for the camp. Please visit the Del-Mar-Va Council for more information.