Camp Schmitt
Scroll through some of the images of the new improvements to Camp Schmitt!
Camp Schmitt Fundraising Update
Thank you to everyone who has supported the 2023 fundraising campaign for Camp Schmitt. We have been able to complete the work we set out do with your help!
The cabin now has gutters with gutter guards protecting the building's foundation going forward. A French Drain was installed, and regrading was accomplished in front of the cabin, also protecting the foundation. A new entrance road to the camp was created. A large plastic culvert was installed in the road ditch and the entrance was regraded to create a gentler slope. A culvert was added to the bottom of the fire road leading to the lake in order to address the perpetual wet and unpassable spot at the edge of the woods. A new outhouse has been built and installed at the camp on a latrine pit that the excavator we hired created.
Other recent improvements at the camp that were not funded by this campaign include a new roof on the Gazebo and new benches in the gazebo. The Fatso stove in the Solomon Pavillion has been repaired and is in working order.
We continue to welcome and appreciate donations to support the camp's maintenance needs. The link on this page continues to be a great way to contribute.
Thank you!
Spangenberg Lodge
1959 Boy Scout Troop 33 of Takoma Park, Maryland has long benefited from having its own camp, Camp Schmitt, near Slanesville, West Virginia. The camp’s features include Spangenberg Lodge, Troll Pond, and 40 beautiful, wooded acres with many campsites for tent camping. It’s a spot that occupies a special place in the hearts of many who have learned, explored, camped, enjoyed fellowship, and had fun there over the years! It has played a part in the formative years of generations of scouts.
Today the 1959 Spangenberg Lodge, a defining feature of the property, is threatened by water infiltration at its foundation. Water is coming down the hill in front of the lodge causing water damage where the wood of the building meets the stone foundation. Water damage has also happened at the back of the building as a result of an inappropriate attachment of the deck. With funds raised in this campaign we will hire an excavator to regrade in front of the lodge which will cause water to flow away from the building and not towards it. A French drain will also be installed to move water. In addition, gutters are being added to the lodge to move water from the roof to the downhill side of the structure. While the excavator is at the camp, needed improvements will be made to the camp entrance road.
While this campaign is focused on excavating work, other work is also needed at the camp. Once the $4,000 target is met for excavating, money raised will address other maintenance needs. Those needs include replacing the 1987 deck on the lodge, replacing the roof of Hubbie’s Hovel (the shed near the cabin), building a new outhouse, addressing the small cabin (demolition or restoration), improvements to the well and pump.
If you have questions or would like additional information about this effort, please contact Troop 33 alum Kevin Patti at kevin_patti@hotmail.com.
To make a tax-deductible donation, please use the donate here button on this webpage or send a check payable to Boy Scout Troop 33 to the below address. Be sure to write Camp Schmitt Maintenance in the memo line.
Boy Scout Troop 33
310 Tulip Avenue
Takoma Park, MD 20912
If you have fond memories of the camp, we hope you will participate in this campaign at whatever level you can. By doing so you will help to save this important building so it can continue to serve the scouting community for years to come.
As the past and present Troop 33 community looks forward to gathering to celebrate the Troop’s centennial anniversary, which was marked during the height of the pandemic in 2020, let’s come together in this effort to maintain this special building.
Thank you