Fun Facts About Camp William B. Snyder

HAYMARKET:  Camp William B. Snyder is located in Haymarket, Virginia.  The Town of Haymarket was chartered in 1799, at the junction of the Old Carolina Road and the North Branch of the Dumfries Road.  The Carolina Road developed from an Iroquois hunting path which was abandoned in 1722 when the Indians were forced by treaty beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The Dumfries Road was a major trade route between the Potomac River and the Shenandoah Valley.

THOROUGHFARE GAP:  Located five miles West of Camp William B. Snyder, Union and Confederate Armies clashed at Thoroughfare Gap during the Civil War.  In July 1861, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston marched Eastward through the gap to join Gen. Beauregard in the First Battle of Manassas.  General Stonewall Jackson passed through the gap in August 1862 to attack the Federal Supply Depot at Manassas Junction.  Also in 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee surprised and repelled the Union Calvary at Thoroughfare Gap.  From that point on, Union Troops occupied the gap whenever Lee's Army was nearby.

MANASSAS:  About five miles to the East of Camp William B. Snyder is the City of Manassas, Virginia.  Two fierce battles were fought here thirteen months apart in the 1800's.  Union and Confederate soldiers clashed over this very same ground twice during the Civil War.  Many of the battlefields key features survive today, including the stone house, the unfinished railroad, and the historic road network.

THE MORGAN FARM:  The property now known as Camp William B. Snyder was for decades called the Morgan Farm at Haymarket.  The farm had many barns of various sizes on it, one of which remains to this day, and is used to store the camps program equipment.

THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY:  On September 23, 1997, the National Capital Area Council purchased the property from the Walt Disney Company, which had plans to build a theme park near the Civil War Battlefields in Northern Virginia.

QUOTE:  �It is excellent to know that this land will be devoted to a use for which it is ideally suited, that of developing the character of young men and training them for the responsibilities of life.�  - Michael D. Eisner, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.

OAK HILL:  Fifteen miles to the West of Camp William B. Snyder is Oak Hill, a house once owned by John Marshall, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.  Chief Justice Marshall lived mostly in Washington D.C. and Richmond, Virginia, but he was known to use this house for retreats.

MOSBY'S RAIDERS:  Col. John Singleton Mosby and his Raiders camped all around this area during the Civil War.

RECTORTOWN:  At Rectortown, located twelve miles Northwest of Camp William B. Snyder, Gen. George B. McClellan received the order from President Abraham Lincoln relieving him of command of the Army of the Potomac.

125 ACRES SOLD:  In 1999, the National Capital Area Council sold 125 acres of Camp William B. Snyder to Wetlands Studies and Solutions, Inc., to be developed as wetlands as part of the Federal Government's Wetlands Preservation Priority.  As a result, the North Fork Wetlands Area was designed and built and is known to be among the best wetlands reclamation projects in the nation.  On October 14, 2000, every acre was returned to the council to be used for recreation and the study of ecology.

A GAP IN THE MOUNTAINS:  Just to the West of Camp William B. Snyder, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, is Thoroughfare Gap, a gap between Biscuit Mountain to the South and Mother Leathercoat Mountain to the North.

FREE PEOPLE OF COLOR:   In the mid 1800's families of African-American, Native-American, and mixed ancestry migrated to Thoroughfare Gap from the nearby counties of Fauquier, Culpeper, Warren and Rappahannock.  They were �Free People of Color� and built homes and established a small farming community known as Thoroughfare.

THE OKRUM BAPTIST CHURCH:  In 1909, the residents of Thoroughfare built the Okrum Baptist Church, on donated land, and hired their own ministers.  The Okrum Baptist Church can clearly be seen from most locations at Camp William B. Snyder.  It is located on Thoroughfare Road, near the Southwest corner of the camp.  The church remains and active congregation, made up of many of the descendants of those families who built the church nearly 100 years ago.

CAMP WILLIAM B. SNYDER:  The National Capital Area Council had been searching for a �close-in� camp to replace Camp Tapawingo, which had been serving as a site for training and outdoor programs for many years.  At last the Morgan Farm at Haymarket was discovered.  The current owner was the Walt Disney Company.  The land was beautiful, the amount of acreage was more than what was dreamed of, the access was easy, and the price tag was right.  The NCAC had found its new camp.  Instrumental in the purchase, through a very generous gift, was Council Executive Board Member Bill Snyder for who the camp is named after.

THE WEATHER:  Camp William B. Snyder has wonderful weather conditions for both winter and summer activities.  The average daily high temperature in January is 45 (F) and the low is 25 (F).  The average daily high temperature in July is 88 (F) and the low is 67 (F).

CUB WORLD:  The summer camp program at Camp William B. Snyder is Cub World, a theme-oriented, overnight camping program for all age Cub Scouts.  It is the mission of Cub World to give every camper the opportunity to live and learn the principles found in Cub Scouting's Twelve Core Values through an action-packed outdoor program filled with FUN.

FIRST COUNCIL CAMPFIRE:  On May 7, 2005, the first council campfire was held at Camp William B. Snyder.  Ashes from all of the camps at the Goshen Scout Reservation and district camporees, as well as ashes from the Amangamek Wipit OA Lodge, NCAC Heritage Society, Brown Sea Island, Treasure Island, and Gilwell Field, formed the base on which the campfire was built.  The ashes represent Scout camping in our council and around the world. 

MANAHOAC:  The Manahoac Indians are believed to have roamed this area long before the arrival of the Europeans.  They were a nomadic tribe of hunters, with no established villages, who learned to burn the forest to create grassland and attract buffalo, which was their chief source of food.  There is very little evidence of their presence left today except for an occasional arrowhead or spear point found usually in a farmer's field.

AN IDEAL LOCATION:  Camp William B. Snyder is located about 40 Miles Southwest of Washington, D.C. and right in the middle of many of the Civil War Battlefields.  It is conveniently located near route 66 and is a short commute to the DC Metro and VRE train systems, making it an ideal place for visiting Scout units to stay while touring the area.