Boy Scout Heartbreak: Maryland, NY Camp Will Be Sold Off In Settlement
The Henderson Scout Reservation property in Maryland, NY where boy scouts from the Leatherstocking Council serving Herkimer, Oneida, Madison, and part of Hamilton, Otsego, Delaware, and Lewis counties have been coming for years announced the difficult decision to put the property up for sale to pay the council's share of a multi-billion dollar national settlement with abuse survivors.
The Leatherstocking Council outlines how that decision was reached at leatherstockingcouncil.org/CampHenderson with the biggest reason being that the council was denied permission to open Camp Henderson this summer after filing for "Intent to Operate". That alone seriously limits the camp's viability. The council adds that there are other significant factors that led to the decision to sell the camp, like the fact that Camp Henderson requires considerable funds to maintain it.
When compared to Camp Kingsley, another camp owned by the council which is more of a year-round facility with consistent rentals, Camp Henderson just isn't as viable as Camp Kingsley located in Ava, NY, north of Rome. It also costs less for the Leatherstocking Council to operate Camp Kingsley and the council says that it makes more sense to hold onto that camp. The council must have at least one camp for its boy scouts so is unable to sell all properties.
One other property that will be sold is the Cedarlands Scout Reservation in Long Lake, NY. To find out more about what's happening related to the Leatherstocking Council visit leatherstockingcouncil.org.