For over a hundred years, Western North Carolina has been home to a variety of summer camps. Some have celebrated their centennial and others have closed their gates. Still remaining are about 78 summer camps of all diversities; religiously affiliated, agency supported, private, non-profit, single-sex, coed, sports, music, and others. Many of those that have closed their doors may be gone from the roster of camps to attend, but they are not forgotten.

Camp Windy Wood 1957 - 1986

Camp Windy Wood was founded in 1957 by Joanne and Bill Waggoner as a traditional boys and girls camp operating half of the summer for boys and the other half for girls. Located on Lake Summit in Tuxedo, N.C., the camp closed in 1986 and the property remained in the Waggoner family. Consisting of about 60 acres, the camp was sold in 2023 and the land and buildings are currently for sale in parcels. Laura Waring wrote to say, “Trailblazers rule. I am a Windy Wood veteran of several happy summers of box turtles and a cold swimming pool – Polar Bear Club!”

Sky Valley Pioneer Camp for Boys 1948 – 1974

Sky Valley Pioneer Camp was founded in 1948 by James Young Perry, Jr., an Episcopal minister, and his wife Llewellyn LaBruce Perry of Charleston, S.C. “Enter a boy, leave a man” was the camp motto. Under his leadership, Perry developed an eight-week program for 40 campers that combined “rough and ready” pioneer living with the values that go into the making of Christian manhood. Campers slept in US Army surplus tents built up on platforms and bathed in the ice-cold lake. The main activities included hiking and making improvements to camp buildings. An annual hiking cup was awarded at the end of camp to the camper who had accumulated the most miles. This usually totaled around 300 miles in 8 weeks. In 1965 Jim Perry died and leadership of the camp passed on to his son, James “Bo” Perry, III who ran the camp until 1974. Later the camp was leased to the Eckerd Foundation which provided support for children with troubled backgrounds and is now leased by Trails Momentum.

Flintlock Camps 1965 – 1987

Bill Ross was a Western North Carolina camp legend who helped start and run three summer camps in the Green River Valley; Sky Valley Pioneer Camp, Flintlock Camps, and Green River Preserve. While in the military he would spend his leave working at Kanuga where he met his wife, Bootie Pinckney, of Charleston. In 1953, he graduated from The University of Virginia and began a career in education at Porter Military Academy and the Gaud School in Charleston, SC. Later he served as Head of the Middle School at Porter-Gaud School. In 1966, Bill and his family moved to Spartanburg, SC, where he served as head of the Middle and Lower Schools at Spartanburg Day School until his retirement in 1991. During their early summers, Bill and Bootie worked at Sky Valley Pioneer Camp and were instrumental in the building of it.

In 1965, Bill and Bootie opened Flintlock Camps for Boys and Girls located in the Green River Valley on land owned by the Rice Family of Charleston, S.C. Many of the traditions of Sky Valley Pioneer Camp were carried over to Flintlock including the main activities of hiking and building camp facilities. Adjacent to land owned by Laurie and Alex Schenck, Ross was given permission by the Schenck family to use their 3400 acres of land for camper hiking.

Around 1987, the Rice Family decided to cancel the lease on the Flintlock site, and Bill and Bootie were forced to close the camp. Little did Bill know that his once-upon-a-time Flintlock Camper, Sandy Schenck, was contemplating leaving his job to start a summer camp on his family land and that Flintlock would live on in this new camp.

Highland Lake Summer Camps

During World War I, Colonel John Charles Woodward and his wife relocated from Georgia and purchased much of the property associated with Highland Lake Club to establish the Carolina Military and Naval Academy for young men. Woodward doubled the size of the Baring-Trenholm-Rhett House to provide dormitory and classroom space for the students and also purchased the rights to the lake for training the young men.

The academy did not survive very long, but Col. Woodward continued to run a school for boys, which was called Camp Highland Lake. The Woodwards constructed a new summer house for their use and while Col. Woodward ran the boys’ camp and academy, Mrs. Woodward operated a girls’ summer camp called Gracemont from their home and its outbuildings. Col. Woodward directed Camp Highland Lake until his death in 1939, and it was continued into the 1940s by his son, Maj. C. D. Woodward. The twenty-room lodge was a dormitory built for Camp Highland Lake. In the late twentieth century the lodge was rehabilitated into guest rooms for Highland Lake Inn.

In 1946, the property sold to Berryman Longino who ran the “All American Boys Camp for one year. In 1947, Camp Brandeis, a summer camp and school for young people of the Jewish faith was there.

In 1955, the Catholic diocese bought the Highland Lake property to be used as a diocesan retreat center and summer camp, Our Lady of the Hills Camp. The camp opened in 1956. It was the first racially integrated camp in the region. In 1978, the Diocese of Charlotte Youth Ministry office relocated to the camp.

In 1985 the property was sold to the Lindsey family and the Highland Lake Inn and Conference Center was established at the former camp location. In 1999, the Lindseys sold the Highland Lake Inn and Resort property parcel to the Grup family who continue to run it today. Many of the Lindsey family members still reside on various parcels of the Highland Lake property and operate other businesses there.

Camp Sequoyah – 1924 - 1978

Camp Sequoyah in Weaverville, NC was founded by C. Walton Johnson in 1924. “Chief,” the tall, former YMCA worker opened his “Camp with a Purpose” and named it Sequoyah after the Indian scholar who invented the Cherokee alphabet. He operated the camp for the next 43 years until his death in early 1967. His son, Bill, kept the camp operating for the 1967 season, and then leased the camp to Bruce Capps, who ran it for another 11 years. The camp closed its doors after the 1978 season, but for the past 45 years, there has been a vibrant alumni presence devoted to preserving the property and the memories. Nostalgia plays a part, but there’s more to it than that. “Sequoyah, they say steered boys toward qualities that last a lifetime – discipline, self-reliance, spirituality, a balance life.” A website devoted to remembering those formative camp experiences can be found through this link. https://www.campsequoyah.net

Camp Yonahlossee 1922 – late 1980’s

Camp Yonahlossee, once located near Blowing Rock, North Carolina, was a summer camp for young women that operated from 1922 to the late 1980s. The camp was founded by Dr. Adam Perry (A.P.) and Mrs. Margaret Kephart, educators from Greensboro, North Carolina. Camp Yonahlossee was the female counterpart to the boys’ Camp Yonahnoka located nearby in Linville, North Carolina.

In 1954, the camp was sold to Mr. and Mrs. George M. McCord and Mrs. Agnes Jeter – fondly known by her campers as “Jete”. The heart and soul of Camp Yonahlossee, Miss Jeter started as a young camp counselor in 1923 and rose to become owner from 1950 to 1981 when she retired. Her long tenure allowed her to touch many lives. “Jete had more influence on my life – other than my parents and church – than anyone,” said Vicki Steadman Clement of Greenville, a camper in the 1940s.

The camp’s primary focus was outdoor recreation with programs including horseback riding, archery, rifle shooting, swimming, sailing, and fencing. Crafts and dance were also taught. The camp closed in the late 1980s and became a resort focused on equestrian activities. “I had so much fun at camp, recalls Francie Reeves Morrison, Charleston camper in the 1960s. Every camper was a member of an Indian tribe which wouldn’t be allowed today. I was a Shawano. Banners of the Chippewas, Croatans, Tuscaroras, and Shawanos adorned the Main Cabin walls. I was also big into horseback riding and Yonahlosee had a great program. I still keep in touch with a friend I made all those years ago.”

Author, Susan Stafford Kelly, remembers: “Even though Camp Yonahlossee closed in the ‘80s, after more than 60 summers, and even though its acreage is a beautiful mountain residential community the waterfall still splashes over the rock walls and it campers never leave. You can’t stop being a Yonahlossee Girl.”

Camp Catawba 1944 - 1970

Camp Catawba was a summer camp for boys that operated from 1944 to 1970. It was formerly located near Blowing Rock, North Carolina, near what is now the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The camp was founded by Dr. Vera Lachmann, a poet and professor of classics, whose German-Jewish background forced her to seek refuge in the United States in the 1930s. Focused on a balance of recreation and the arts, the summer camp’s activities were especially influenced by Lachmann’s expertise in the classics and literature. Activities included horseback riding, hiking, swimming, archery, as well as dramatic performances of Shakespeare, Aristophanes, and Chekov, bedtime stories from The Odyssey and the The Illiad, and musical instruction under the direction of microtonal concert musician and composer Tui St. George Tucker.

The archival collection related to Camp Catawba documents, the operation of the camp and its history, and correspondence with campers and counselors, as well as ephemera and sound recordings related to the camp is available for research at Appalachian State in their special collections research center. Additionally, this collection contains materials related to the camp’s founder, Vera Lachmann, such as poetry composed by Lachmann and her personal correspondence. To learn more, visit the collection guide: https://appstate-speccoll.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/1128

Read more about Camp Catawba on the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s website: https://www.brpfoundation.org/blog/remembering-camp-catawba

Camp Burgiss Glenn 1933 – 1988

In 1926, responding to a promise of $12,000 from real estate developer W.W. Burgiss, the Greenville YWCA purchased 130 acres of mountain land near Cedar Mountain, N.C. for Camp Burgiss Glenn. Considered the sister camp of neighboring YMCA Camp Greenville, Burgiss Glenn was a smaller, more intimate setting with a focus on traditional camp activities and close personal relationships. Accredited by the American Camp Association, the basic camp program for girls ages 7-14 included a variety of arts, sports and special events.

In the late 1980’s YMCA Camp Greenville, a boys camp, and Camp Burgis Glenn a YWCA girls camp merged to form a coed camp. Today, Camp Greenville offers one week sessions to approximately 200 boys and girls per week.

Former Burgiss Glenn camper and Greenville native, Mimi Richardson Shaughnessy, attended Camp Burgis Glenn in the 1960’s for years. She can still recall the favored camp song….

“Bickety burgess glickety glen is mickety mighty fickety fine can wicketedy we are glickedy glad we are here!”

Summit Camps 1969 - 1986

Summit Camps was located on 1,400 acres that are part of the DuPont State Recreational Forest today. It consisted of both a boys’ camp and a girls’ camp. Camp Summit had its own airstrip, which was used by camp founder and owner, Ben Cart, and parents of campers. The camp operated from 1969 through 1986. In 1991 DuPont bought the property, including the camp buildings, Lake Julia and the airstrip.

Camp Skyuka 1954-1985

In 1954 the Spartanburg YMCA built and operated Camp Skyuka, a wonderful summer camp that provided fun filled, happy memories to thousands of children. Located on White Oak Mountain near Tryon, North Carolina, it once was fertile hunting ground for the Cherokee, a hideaway for moonshiners, and today, a picturesque setting for vacation homes and permanent residences. One of those residents, Susan Story Speight, captured the history of Skyuka in her book, As We Climb the Mountain, Up the Winding Roadway.

When Camp Skyuka first opened its doors in 1954, it was touted as an “Outdoor Paradise in the Clouds.” The much-loved camp director was Evans Cannon, the general secretary for the Spartanburg YMCA. The unique sleeping cabins, mess hall and infirmary were all built of blue granite by local rock mason, J.C. Williams, with the help of a local crew which included three Cherokee Indians. All of the stone came directly from the mountain or from a quarry in Green River Cove. Members of the U.S. Naval Reserve CB Division 6-27 of Spartanburg took part in a project called “Operation Skyuka,” a goodwill development program in which they constructed a rifle range, ball field, and tennis courts, making sure everything was ready for opening day. They even devised a PA system. In the late 1980’s, the YMCA board voted to close the beloved summer camp and the 100 plus acres were sold to a developer. He in turn divided the land into building lots and sold them and the old stone cabins for vacation homes.

The following letter from camper Michael Coffin (1970-73) reflects the feelings that many shared:

“The first trip to the camp was sort of magical for a young boy like me. We took a bus up to a spot below the mountain. There we were met by the pick-up truck from the camp. We piled in the back of the open pick-up with our luggage. We then proceeded to ascend the tremendously steep gravel road to the camp. The truck bounced and clattered up the steep grade. It was so cool! I was actually terrified the first time. The road was very rough and rutted and only suited for trucks. I remember my ears popping from the altitude change and the coolness of the shaded mountainside, finally reaching the camp with relief that we didn’t plummet to our deaths down the steep slopes! On first sight, the camp was a wonderment and utterly beautiful. The amazing view from the pavilion was like looking off the side of the world. And, when a thunderstorm would come across the mountain, you thought it was the end of the world! Mr. Cannon made the camp the magical place that it was. He was a masterful story teller and one of the prime events of the summer camp was the ghost stories told around the bonfire. The meals were excellent. The warm summer days of swimming, hiking and crafts melted into cool nights of bouncing on the trampoline at the pavilion and roasting marshmallows over the camp fire. It was a great experience.”

Camp As You Like It 1914 – 1968

Shortly after Judge Heriot Clarkson established the resort community of Little Switzerland in 1910, others came with their vision of establishing summer camps in the beautiful mountain community. In 1914, a Charleston, SC resident, Miss Marie Gaillard Dwight, started what many believe to  be the oldest girls’ camp in Western North Carolina. This camp was called “As-You-Like-It”, and it was located on the west side of Osborne Knob off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Camp As-You-Like-It’s name comes from the famous Shakespeare play. Local residents, led by Lester McKinney, helped build and maintain the camp while it was in operation. Miss Dwight’s goal was to provide approximately 100 campers each year with athletics, activities, and events designed to promote physical and mental well-being. For 31 years, she realized her dream of influencing the lives of girls through the camp. In 1945, the girls’ camp was taken over by new owners who changed the name to “Camp Glenlaurel”. The camp stayed open until 1968. Vandals destroyed many of the structures after the camp’s closing. Little evidence remains today of the once thriving camp, with the exception of some stonework that is now hidden deep in the woods.

Camp Alpine 1927 – 1930

In 1927, Miss Dwight’s brother, Charles S. Dwight Jr., opened a summer camp for boys on 200 acres of land that he leased from Boot McKinney in the Lake Laurel community. Between 25 and 30 boys attended each of the three summers at Camp Alpine. They enjoyed outdoor activities such as archery, tennis, lifesaving, horseback riding, and swimming. Overnight trips to nearby natural attractions by both automobile and horseback were common. The camp also boasted about its beautiful views and good food prepared by William, who apparently had a delicious fried chicken dinner. The cost to attend an 8-week session (from July 3-August 28) was $125; $75 for a 4-week session. The camp kitchen was located in what is one of the oldest structures still standing today in Mitchell County. The Boot McKinney cabin, as it is known, was built shortly after the Revolutionary War. Camp cooks traveled with the campers on excursions to local attractions. Unfortunately, Camp Alpine did not survive the Great Depression and closed after the 1930 season.

For generations, summer camps have been a tradition in the lives of thousands of children. Gone, but not forgotten camps were some of the many that made a significant impact on them. At the end of the summer camp was camp; a place where children were allowed to experience independence and to discover who they were spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

Missy Craver Izard was born and raised in Charleston, S.C. and resides in Flat Rock, N.C. A retired Summer Camp Director and art teacher, Missy is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, journalist, community leader, and the recipient of several awards including the White House Champions of Change.