First Scout Troops in Texas

Organized in 1914
.
Scout troops continued to grow across Texas.  The Troop Committee plan was created. Membership was now at 127,685 at the end of the year.  In the Dallas Morning News, January 24, 1915, Scout Commissioner C. M. Richmond, of Dallas, report that in 1914 the Dallas Scout Council now had 597 Scouts in Dallas; 415 at present are activel  Dallas has nine Eagle Scouts.  And on March 20, 1915, Ft. Worth reported that they had ten troops and about 200 Boy Scouts in the city.
.
Community
Details
Houston

Troop 3 -First organized in 1914 at the Longfellow School, with S.T. Hogan as scoutmaster.  Started tradition of giving large tent and engraved loving cup to the winning troop at Field Day.

 

Lost charter in 1924; combined with Troop 8 for a time.  After first re-organization, Troop 3 met at the Third Presbyterian Church, with John McCoy as scoutmaster.  Their charter expired in January 1942.

 

Second re-organization occurred in December 1942 at the Baptist Temple Church.  Then dropped in December 1946.  Third re-organization in January 1950 by a Group of Citizens.  Troop 3 finally expired in 1951, when it was sponsored by South Houston Rotary Club.


Information was obtained from Jack Linn's SHAC History titled "In the Beginning: The First Scout Troops in Houston."

Houston

Troop 9 - First organized in 1914 and met at Harvard School.  This Houston Heights troop won the second relay races in 1917.  Later sponsored by the Collins Memorial Methodist Church.  Troop 9 was dropped in 1987.  During its tenure, it was the oldest continuously chartered troop in Houston.


Information was obtained from Jack Linn's SHAC History titled "In the Beginning: The First Scout Troops in Houston."
Houston

Troop 8 - First organized in 1914, with R.R. Adcock as scoutmaster.  Met at the Hudson Furniture Company, 711 Travis.  J.L. McReynolds became scoutmaster a few years later.  Met at the Taylor School, Sherman School, and the American Legion Hall.  Known as “The Sharks.”

 

Troop 8 was re-organized after H. H. Barber left the troop.  Barber was scoutmaster in June 1929, so the troop must have re-organized after that time.

 

Since its re-organization , Troop 8 has been sponsored by The First Methodist Church, the West End Methodist Church, Irvington Park Baptist Church, Park Temple Baptist, Moody Park Civic Club and the First Baptist Church in Sheldon.


Information was obtained from Jack Linn's SHAC History titled "In the Beginning: The First Scout Troops in Houston."

Houston

Troop 10 - First organized in 1914 at the Rusk School.  Known as “The Sycamores.”  Later met at the South End Junior High School.  Lost its charter for a time and was re-organized in 1931 at the Trinity Episcopal Church.  As of 1964, the troop was still sponsored by the Trinity Church.


Information was obtained from Jack Linn's SHAC History titled "In the Beginning: The First Scout Troops in Houston."

Houston

Troop 13 - Sponsored by Westminster Presbyterian Church, the troop began in 1914.  Herbert Mitchell was scoutmaster, with John Bolin his assistant.  The troop had a strong religious emphasis.


Information was obtained from Jack Linn's SHAC History titled "In the Beginning: The First Scout Troops in Houston."

Houston

Troop 14 - Organized by R.R. Adcock in 1914.  Met at the Dow School, the Woodland Masonic Hall, and the South End Christian Church.

 

Was dropped; then re-organized in March 1931 by a Group of Citizens in Bellaire.  Re-organized again in 1933; became inactive and was dropped.  Revived in June 1937 by the Redeemer Lutheran Church.  In 1948, the Shady Dale Baptist Church became sponsor.

 

Dropped in 1950, but revived in 1951 by the Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints.  Troop 14 finally expired in December 1958.


Information was obtained from Jack Linn's SHAC History titled "In the Beginning: The First Scout Troops in Houston."

Houston

Troop 15 - First organized in 1914 at the Lubbock School.  Warren B. Leach and J.J. Boone were the first two scoutmasters.  Later sponsored by the East End Presbyterian Church.  Re-organized in September 1930 at the Palmer Memorial Church (Episcopal).  Active at that church until August 1957.


Information was obtained from Jack Linn's SHAC History titled "In the Beginning: The First Scout Troops in Houston."

McKinney Dallas Morning News, January 22, 1914.  "Special to The News.  McKinney, Tex., Jan. 21 - A patrol of Boy scouts has been organized here by Scout Commissioner Jeff Davis.  The advisory council is composed of the following citizens of the town:  Jeff Davis, commissioner; Mayor H. A. Finch; John S. McKinney, City Marshal; Tom W. Perkins, former State Senator; H. L. Davis, County Judge; F. B. Pope, president of the Chamber of Commerce; L. J. Truett, County Attorney; W. E. Thompson, editor Examiner; M. T. Jones, Sunday School superintendent;  The initial membership roll comprises about twenty fine young boys, ranging in age from 16 to 21.  As soon as these have become well trained in the scout work, younger boys will be accepted to membership, down to the age of 12."
Snyder According to "West-Texas Cubs, Scouts and Explorers," 1973, by Olan B. Draper, a Boy Scout Troop was organized in Snyder on March 13, 1914.
Tyler Dallas Morning News, June 7, 1914.  "About 100 Scouts...camped at Steward Lake, about seven miles west of Dallas.  The Scouts were in charge of C. M. Richmond, scout commissioner; George W. Keeler, president of the scoutmasters; Scoutmasters Allen Hord, H. L. Young, W. G. Leeman and A. G. Newman.  A. S. Douglas, a Scoutmaster from Tyler, Maynard Murphey, one of his Scouts of that city, accomplained the boys to the camp."
Midland According to "West-Texas Cubs, Scouts and Explorers," 1973, by Olan B. Draper, in 1914, H. A. Leverton, Principal of Midland Schools and later Mayor of the city, organized a Troop with 7 boys and established the first Boy scout Camp in a popular wooded grove 4 miles west of Midland. 
Sonora
Pictured above is Troop 1 of Sonora as they practice first aid in 1915.  A letter from Roy E. Aldwell, Sonora, Texas Banker, wrote in the Spring of 1915 the following: "Last September at the commencement of the Public School I started the Boy Scout Movement in Sonora, but it was October the 25th, 1914, before I had completed my arrangement of enlisting the boys with the Boy Scouts of America."  For more information about this troop go to:
http://www.westtexasscoutinghistory.net/troop_sonora.html
Denton Although groups calling themselves "Boy Scouts" were started in Denton from 1910 or 1911, they were never registered with the BSA.  The First Baptist Church sponsored one of these early groups  The first documented Boy Scout evidence appeared as follows:
Dallas Morning News, March 3, 1913, page 2.

"Boy Scout Movement Growing, Special to The News:  Denton, Tex. March 10 - The Boy Scout movement is growing considerably in interest here, and the Lee school has a stron camp under direction of Principal J. E. Parks, with Lon F. Rowlett, a Philippine veteran, as scout master.

"Eight of the boys took a hke to the dam on Elm fork of the Trinity Friday night, a distance of five miles, each carrying his bedding and cooking utensils and spending the night on the creek."

Denton's frist coordinated effort to get officially tied to the BSA came on June 11, 1914 and Troop 1 was organized in September of 1914.  Heer is a picture that was printed on page 6 of the November 13, 1915 Denton Record Chronicle of the troop.

.
A  story in the Dallas Morning News, October 18, 1914, stated that the Texas State Fair had 300 Boy Scouts at the Texas State Fair on Boy Scout Day.  Scouts from Fort Worth, Greenville, Garland, Terrell, Waxahachie, Tyler, Paris, Irving, Italy, Jacksonville and Denison came to Dallas.

We want to thank Jim Morriss for providing us the information on Troop 1 of Denton, Texas.

We do not have information on the units marked in red above. If you have any information on these Troops please let us know.  You can find the e-mal address at the bottom of our home page


Last updated: January 7, 2019

Return to Alphabetical Listing
Return to First Troops in Texas
Return to Home Page