A Brief History of Camp Cachalot:

The late 1960s and 1970s

Rebuilding of the property began immediately, but there was a pressing issue — how would summer camp be held that summer, with the camp still covered in debris from the fire, and with many important facilities out of commission?

The solution to that issue presented itself when Carl Ritchie, then Scout Executive of the Squanto Council, and Bob Patrick, then Scout Executive of the Cachalot Council, agreed to cooperate by having many troops from Cachalot attend summer camp at neighboring Camp Squanto, while at the same time, an outpost camp would be operated at Cachalot [1] for interested troops. This arrangement continued through the summer of 1965, with Cachalot's own Sumner Morse running the joint program in its second year [2]. Despite the fire, Cachalot had remained open throughout those first two years of recovery, even hosting a reduced summer camp program.

In 1966, the summer camp program at Cachalot resumed full operation.

In late May of 1967, in an effort to emphasize that Cachalot was more than just a summer camp and that it was in fact a year-round training center for the Council, it was suggested by Kenneth Liberty, then the Scout Executive, to change the name of the property. The new name, recommended by the Camping and Properties Committee, and approved by the Executive Board, would be "Cachalot Council Scout Reservation [3]. The concern was that many potential donors would be more willing to give to a year round reservation than to something that operated only a few weeks each summer.

After the fire, the Cook's Cabin as it exists today was constructed, a new Waterfront Tower was erected in 1965, and by 1966, the Dining Hall had also undergone a major expansion, adding more seating area on the end facing the Cook's Cabin, and a large new kitchen area [4], almost doubling the footprint of the building. The duplex building and maintenance building were added soon after. 1968 saw the construction and dedication of the Raymond F. Covill Memorial Chapel, 1969 the construction of the Ranger's Residence, and Cachalot's first full-time, resident ranger, Armand Guilmette. This was followed by another flurry of activity in the early 1970s which saw the 21 Club winterized with funding from the Standard-Times, the Adirondack shelters built, and the first Council Ring on the current site established.

In order to control the water rights and right-of-way to Five Mile Pond, the cranberry bogs at the southern end of Camp (and the only piece extending into Wareham) were purchased from their previous owner, Richard Arne Johnson of South Carver, in 1971. This added another 40 acres to the property.

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