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Boxwell Reservation at Old Hickory Lake

Boxwell Reservation is the name of Middle Tennessee Council's resident Scout Camp. There have been other Boxwells; the location at Old Hickory Lake is the fourth and current location.

This Boxwell opened to Scout camping in the fall of 1959 and its inaugural summer camp program began in 1960. The original reservation consisted of four camps: Camp Stahlman, Camp Parnell, Camp Murrey and Camp Light. Camps Stahlman and Parnell were Scout resident camps, while Camp Murrey was for adults and families, complete with independent programs for adults and children. Camp Light remained a wilderness camp.

A capital campaign in 1972 led to a new resident camp, Camp Craig. Craig was carved out of Camp Light. Other resident camps were planned, but never materialized. The '72 Campaign also saw the construction of permanent offices and Trading Post buildings for each camp as well as a Health Lodge. For a brief period, all three resident camps operated. After 1976, Craig and Parnell began a two year rotation that continued until 1998. COPE was added in 1983, starting the long, slow current development of Camp Light as a High Adventure Area.

A third capital campaign in 1994, saw Camp Murrey closed, renovated, and rechristened as Gaylord CubWorld. CubWorld offered programs not only for Cubs and Webelos, but offered activity areas not found anywhere else: a fort, a Native American area, a castle, and a pirate ship! Also in 1994, the Boat Harbor, which had been closed since 1976, was reopened. The waterfronts at all three camps were overhauled and improved. Camp Parnell's last summer of resident camping was 1998; as a result, Craig remains open every summer, just like Stahlman.

Since the turn of the century, a variety of new buildings and construction projects have emerged. Showerhouses have been renovated. A swimming pool has been added. The reservation shotgun range has been renovated... and renovated again. A High Adventure center was added. A zipline was added near COPE and a new boating area was added to CubWorld. Parnell even found new life as the dining hall was converted to a STEM Center and the Trading Post to a Music facility.

In terms of program, the Old Hickory Lake Boxwell Reservation offers advancement sessions in the morning and the afternoon. Mealtimes are more than just times to serve food as songs and skits add to the environment. Campfires are also regular events. CubWorld is much the same, though the scheduling is quite different. Additionally, there are a host of other entertainments for a Scout to participate in beyond just merit badge sessions. A Scout is never bored!

And of course the Old Hickory offers more than summer camp. Troops and dens/packs use the property regularly for weekend camping or boating activities. Woodbadge courses are held on site. There is also a winter camp and a Webelos Winter camp. People can also get married on the reservation! There is rarely a quiet weekend at Boxwell on Old Hickory Lake.