Camp Baldwin (Oregon)
Camp Baldwin is a 640-acre Scouts BSA summer camp located east of Mount Hood near Dufur, Oregon.
History
Camp Baldwin owes its existence and its name to a 1928 land donation by Ellen Baldwin. Mrs. Baldwin offered 160 acres of land in Wasco County, Oregon to the Scouts, who accepted and named the future camp in her honor.In 1937, Mrs. Baldwin's son, Ned, bequeathed $25,000 to construct a camp on the land. This land, lacking water, ultimately proved unusable as a camp. After a 1944 court ruling, the bequest—having appreciated in value to $42,000—was used to purchase more suitable property. The initial camp was built in 1947 on 160 acres along Ramsey Creek.
The camp expanded in the 1950s, with the purchase of two adjoining properites along Eightmile Creek: "Dufur Mill" in 1955 for $12,000 and "Sweet Home" in 1957. In 1958, the U.S. Forest Service began construction of Dufur Valley Road through the present camp property.
Located in a deep draw, the lake was rather small—less than a quarter-acre—and very cold. As other camps modernized and post-war youth population grew, the camp was relocated across Dufur Valley Road in 1962 to the "Dufur Mill" property. That same year, the Scouts dammed Tamarack Creek to create the camp's iconcic Lake Hanel, named for lumberman and volunteer Don Hanel.