1908 United States There are numerous troops which claim to be first Boy Scout troop in the United States. Although there appear to be several Boy Scout troops that were operating prior to the establishment of the Boy Scouts of America, none of these claims are deemed verifiable by the organization – as far back as 1940 an official, George W. Ehler, searched records and determined "After several years of experience with these inquiries and claims, I came to the conclusion that it was not possible from any accepted record to determine which was the first Troop." • Paoli Troop 1 started in 1909 and is the longest continually running Troop in the nation. • A claimant for
first Boy Scout Troop in the United States is
Burnside, Kentucky in 1908. • Bala One is another claimant for
first Boy Scout Troop in the United States in
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It was started by Frank H. Sykes in 1908 prior to the founding of the Boy Scouts of America.
1909 China In Shanghai, a troop of "Boy Scouts" was formed, as a branch of the then existing (British) "Boys' Brigade" whose members were representative of the cosmopolitan but culturally Western population of the city. The 1st Dragon Troop, run on actual Baden-Powell lines, was also formed in early 1909, in Shanghai. These were mostly British boys. The first native
Scout troop was organized by
Reverend Yen Chia-lin in
Wuchang on 25 February 1912 and the Scouting movement spread rapidly all over the country.
Chile Robert Baden-Powell visited Chile and gave a speech that inspired the founding of the first Scout Group, Brigada Central. Some time later on 21 May 1909 the first Scout Camp was held. Nowadays, this Group remains active and is known as GAVIN (Grupo Alcibíades Vicencio del Instituto Nacional).
Norway The first recognized troop in Norway is "1. Kristiania (NGSK)", established 15 November 1909. This was a troop in Oslo, connected to an athletic organisation. This troop became a part of "Norske Gutters Speiderkorps", which was established by a national sport organisation. But there were single Scouting patrols earlier than this in some Norwegian cities.
United States • A claimant for
first Boy Scout Troop in the United States is in Wayne PA in 1909. Troop Paoli 1 :In 1907, William Foster Milne, a stonecutter, immigrated to Barre, Vermont from Aberdeen, Scotland, where he had been active in the early Scouting movement. He is referred as the "First Scoutmaster in America" by Sir
Francis Vane. Sir Francis Vane was London Commissioner of Scouts in Baden Powell's organisation and also became President of the British Boy Scouts. In 1909, "Billy" Milne learned of a small group of boys at the First Baptist Church in Barre, who were already members of the Boys Brigade, he offered them an alternative to their routine of marching and drills. By re-organizing into a new "Boy Scout Club" (Troop #1 in the United States) these Scouts learned first aid, new outdoor skills and being helpful to others. "Billy" Milne went back to his native Scotland and brought back the books and materials he needed along with a British Charter. By 1910, Barre's Troop #1 joined the Boy Scouts of America. :By March 1910, the Boy Scouts in Vermont had expanded to such a degree that the girls of nearby Thetford became interested. These girls along with
William Chauncy Langdon, Dr.
Luther Gulick and Charlotte Vedder Gulick formed the Camp Fire Girls which became the sister organization of the Boy Scouts of America on 17 March 1910. The Camp Fire Girls preceded the
Girl Scouts of the USA by 2 years. (The Boy Scouts of America has always regarded the Camp Fire Girls – not the Girl Scouts – as its sister organization. Up until the 1970s there were suggestions to merge the BSA and the CFG.) :The original group of boys that made up Troop #1 were Charles Booth, George Booth, Gerald Brock, Carl Burgess, Earl Burgess, Stanton Burgess, Raymond Cave, Clarence Geake, James Grearson, Walter Grearson, Douglas Inglis, Harry Kent, George Murray, Milton Rollins, Craig Rollins, Cecil Watt and Wallace Watt. Dr. Wallace Watt moved to
Clinton County, Michigan to attend college and remained there as a Scout leader for his entire life. He received the
Silver Beaver Award in 1981 and in 1984 a 75 year Diamond Jubilee service pin from the Boy Scouts of America. Upon his death his widow donated his Barre, Vermont Troop 1 artifacts to the Paine-Gillam-Scott Museum in St. Johns, Michigan. Governor
Deane C. Davis was an early member of Barre, Vermont's Troop #1. • A Third claimant for
first Boy Scout Troop in the United States is in
Pawhuska, Oklahoma in 1909. The Troop was organized in Pawhuska, Osage County, Oklahoma, in May 1909 by Reverend John F. Mitchell. Rev. Mitchell was a missionary priest from England sent to St. Thomas Episcopal Church by the Church of England. Rev. Mitchell, who had been associated in Scout work with Lord Baden-Powell in England, organized the troop of Boy Scouts under English charter and equipped them with English uniforms, manuals, and badges.
1910 By 1910 Argentina, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Suriname, Sweden and the United States had Boy Scouts too.
Finland Toimen Pojat (Unga Fribyggare in
Swedish), a
Scouting troop in
Kauniainen,
Finland was established in 1910. Toimen Pojat is the oldest continuously operating Scout troop in
Finland. During the Russian ban on
Scouting in the 1910s before the Finnish independence in (1917), the troop operated underground. Many traditions that distinguish the troop formed during that period.
Philippines Elwood Stanley Brown, Physical Education Director of the Manila YMCA, founded basketball, volleyball, and Boy Scouting in the Philippine Islands (then a territory of the USA) in 1910. Hence the first Boy Scout unit in the Philippines was the YMCA troop organised by Brown. In the official
Handbook for Boys of the
Boy Scouts of America, First Edition, August 1911 (still in print today!), page 354 (page 222 of PDF copy), in a letter from BSA Honorary Vice President Theodore Roosevelt (former US president) to BSA Executive Secretary (later
Chief Scout Executive)
James E. West, dated 20 July 1911, Roosevelt mentions a letter from a Scoutmaster in the Philippines narrating the noble work of "boy scouts of the Philippines" in rendering assistance during a big fire that hit Manila and in serving at the ten-day Manila Carnival. This is the earliest available documented mention of the phrase "boy scouts of the Philippines" in print. The Manila Scoutmaster's and Roosevelt's letters prove beyond doubt that there were Boy Scouts in the Philippines as early as 1910 – the same year that YMCA International Secretary for Boys' Work
Edgar M. Robinson started actively
organizing the Boy Scouts of America in the US mainland. Portions of Roosevelt's quote of the Manila Scoutmaster's letter were also printed (before and after the
Handbook for Boys edition) in
New Castle News (26 May 1911),
The Corsicana Daily Sun (31 May 1911),
The Washington Post (8 August 1911),
The Youngstown Daily Vindicator (23 August 1911), and
The Miami Metropolis (20 September 1911). According to
The Miami Metropolis article "Boy Scouts Work with the Firemen Just Like Heroes" on page 3, it was "Elwood E. Brown, organizer in the Philippines" who had written to Roosevelt. During his world tour in 1912, Lord Baden-Powell sent back articles for publication in
The Scout. In issue no. 224, 27 July 1912, in the article "In the Cannibal Islands," he made a brief narration about Philippine history and culture and his trip to Manila, illustrated with his own drawings. He mentioned "Boy Scouts of the Philippines" and that he was met by a "Guard of Honour." He also quoted from Roosevelt's letter about the Manila fire and the Manila Carnival in which Scouts rendered valuable service. In the article, Baden-Powell urged readers "to get into correspondence with your brother Scouts in Manila… The Chief Scoutmaster is Mr. Elwood Brown, Y.M.C.A., Manila."
United States • In 1909, Dr. Cran, the Local Episcopal Minister, and Mr. C.H. Hamilton organized Troop 19 in Brookhaven, Mississippi through the New Orleans, LA council. In 1910, the unit was officially recognized by the local scout office in Vicksburg. Troop 19 became Troop 119 after the Andrew Jackson Council was formed. It was sponsored by the First Presbyterian Church until 1938/39 when it was then sponsored by "The Men's Bible Class" First United Methodist church where it has remained. The Troop has been continuously chartered since 1910 and is as old as the incorporated Boy Scouts of America.[ • On 10 September 1910, S. F. Lester of
Troy, New York, became the first person to hold the Scouting leadership position of
Scoutmaster (approved by the BSA). He received his certification from the
BSA headquarters in New York City. In 1910 he led a group of 30 Scouts at
Camp Ilium, in
Pownal, Vermont. Camp Ilium was the starting point of the Boy Scout Movement for Troy, and Pownal. Pownal is only away from Troy. • In 1910, Dan Beard founded Boy Scouts Troop 1 in Flushing, New York, which is believed to be one of the oldest continuously chartered Boy Scout Troop in the United States. • Troop 5 of Denver holds claim to be the oldest continually chartered Boy Scout troop in the United States, west of the Mississippi River, having been chartered continuously since 1910. • In November 1910, Troop #1 of
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey received the first charter from the newly organized Boy Scouts of America, with Pastor E. C. Murphy as its first Scoutmaster, with 25 boys registered as charter members and the First Baptist Church as its sponsor. Scout William Orth of Troop #1 received Scout Certificate No. 1 from Washington D.C. • Troop 1 of
Brentwood, Tennessee, also holds claim to be the oldest continually chartered Boy Scout Troop in the United States, having been continuously chartered since 1910. Troop One holds the distinction of only having three Scoutmasters in its over 104-year history. • Troop 1,
Park Ridge, Illinois was formed in 1910 and chartered on 22 June 1912. Charles Morison Dickenson was the first Scoutmaster from 1912 to 1914. Troop 1 has been continuously chartered by First United Methodist Church in Park Ridge since its inception. • Founded in 1910, Troop 1,
Hingham, MA is one of the oldest Boy Scout troops in the U.S. Troop 1 is part of the "Cranberry Harbors District" in the
Mayflower Council.
1911 Germany The oldest, still existing, Scout Group from Germany was founded in 1911. The Scouts in Backnang, Germany were founded in 1911 by the former city vicar "Schütz" and they are thus among the oldest Protestant scout groups in Germany. The Group belongs to the German VCP, short for Verband Christlicher Pfadfinderinnen und Pfadfinder (Association of Christian Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts). The tribe St. Georg has about 50 active members today. This Year (2022), the tribe celebrates their 111th Birthday. During the Second World War and as the National Socialist Party ruled Germany, all Scout Groups, who did not want to be part of the "Hitler Youth", were forbidden. During that Time the Scouts of Backnang stayed in the underground and only met in Secret. After the Year 1945 the tribe managed to regain members.
Japan The first Boy Scout troop in Japan was organized in Yokohama in 1911 by
Clarence Griffin. The boys of the troop were mostly British students of
St. Joseph College, a boys' school in the Bluff area of Yokohama, and Clarence Griffin organized the troop under English charter. Clarence Griffin is recognized by the Scout Association of Japan as Japan's first Scoutmaster and is honoured with an inscription as such at his final resting place in the
Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery. In 1918
Marianist Bro. Joseph Janning, a missionary teacher of St. Joseph College, assumed the position of Scoutmaster at the school and opened the Troop to boys of all nationalities. The Group subsequently became the first directly registered group of the newly formed Boy Scouts International Bureau, receiving a Charter signed by B–P formally allowing the group to accept "Scouts of mixed nationalities". The group was registered by the World Scout Bureau as "
Troop 1, International Boy Scouts" and has remained continuously active in Yokohama since its formation.
Macao Macao, at the time administered by the Portuguese, saw its first Scout troop founded by Lieutenant Álvaro de Melo Machado, the nominated interim governor of the territory. After resigning from the post the following year, Lt. Machado returned to Lisbon, and carried his fostering of scouting to mainland Portugal.
1912 Portugal In the Lisbon area there was at least one documented group started this year, with spotty records pointing to the existence of others around the mainland, all fostered by the Portuguese YMCA (ACM). This first group, along with the one started by Lieutenant Álvaro Machado upon his return from Macao, would later (in 1913) join to form the
Associação dos Escoteiros de Portugal (AEP), which is active to this day.
1913 Greece In
Greece,
Mark Mindler established in 1913 the third
Sea Scout troop of
Athens (3η Ομάς Αθηνών Ναυτοπροσκόπων) as the first Scouting group of the country. (The first and second Scouting groups were to be established later for training Scout officers.) The group operates to this day.
1918 Mysore State The Chamundi Scout Group was started in December1918 by its founder M.H.R.(Mallasandra Hanumantharao Ramachandrarao) (05/05/1899-18/01/1982). as the first Open Group to be started in India & the then called Mysore State. 1918 is a year of Historical importance since the 1914-1918 war breathing a sigh of relief. The Boy Scout Movement was then taking its roots in the state. The Group consisted of Scout Section only when it was formed. A cub pack was added in 1924 and it became complete in 1924 when a rover crew was started. When S.R.Nanjundaiah's Hindu A.V School which was in a private building at Sultanpet, got accommodation at the Govt. Middle School, Siddikutte (Seegebeli) the Troop started its activities in the school compound. Later the group moved its operations to Naranarayana Choultry at the Market Square in Old Police Road. In course group secured A roon Tippu Sultan palace with the help of Sri. Subba Rao, the then Organising Commissioner, The Boy Scouts of Mysore. It was here troop had all the facilities for scouting group committee was formed with Late Ananda Rao Sirsi, the then Municipal President, who was succeeded by Sri.K.Chandy, the Revenue Commissioner who later became the member of council, Sri Belvadi Ramaswamiah, Revenue Commissioner, Rao Sahib Channaiah, District Judge, N. Madhava Rao, chief secretary to government later became the 23rd Deewan of Mysore, Dr. Subba Rao, senior surgeon, D.V.Gundappa, K. Shankarnarayana Rao, Major Y.V.K Murthy, Dr.
V.K. Badami and others. K. Netkallapa continued to be one of the Vice Presidents. The group had branches in Old Sringeri Mutt, Chamrajpet, Shankar Puram. In order to cater to the needs of the units "Siddikutte" Local Association was formed and later merged with "City Local Association" to extend its activities. The group leader was the Secretary in the year 1928 this association was merged with "City District Association" one of our Vice-presidents Major Y.V.K Murthy became the District Scout Commissioner and one of the parents Dr. Gopakrishna Rao became the Secretary.
Royal patronage The group has the proud legacy of being adopted as the Maharaja's Own Troop after winning the All India First Aid Mace at the All India competitions held at Nandi Hills in 1924. M.H.R. was Baloo for sometime to the Prince Jayachamaraja Wadiyar. On a special invitation in 1931 the group and its members including parents and well wishers attend a Hi-Tea party at the Bangalore Palace hosted by the chief Scout Sri Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar and chief cub Jayachamaraja Wadiyar. The wheel of the group had rolled from place to place in the first fifty years. One must recollect how the Scout group was tossed from place to place before establishing its land in November 1941 on the solid rock it stands today with the efforts of Late.M.R.Narsimha Iyengar Group Scout Master and Secretary of the Group Committee. There was no den until the year 1957 with the sincere effort of Bros. V.Rangaswamy and M.Nagaraj the group put up a small den. The group has been successfully running now for 99 years and looks forward to a whole new approach to 21st century of scouting. The group is led by Bro. K.Narasimha Murthy and with more than 80 kids meeting & doing scouting 365 days has been a dream come true of our founder M.H.R. == See also ==