Announcement is made of the purchase of a 200-acre of land known as the Judge Forsythe place by J.H. Townshend and George Morris, prominent business men of Memphis, Tenn., on which property will be established a summer camp for boys, Camp Chickasaw by name. The camp, when completed, will represent an investment of approximately $60,000, it being the purpose of the owners to expend at least $25,000 on improvements. Mr. Morris, one of the owners, will also be camp director.
The camp site is situated 1 ½ miles from Brevard, adjoining the Brevard Country Club and golf course, and overlooking the broad valley and the French Broad River, with a river frontage of at most two miles. The property is bounded in the north by Sugarloaf Mountain, and partially on the east and west by the mountain which provides an ideal watershed with numerous fresh water springs, and is bounded partly also on the east and west by the French Broad River and entirely on the south by the river. The river at this point is about 80 feet wide, with sufficient depth for canoeing, but shallow enough not to be dangerous. It is claimed that Chickasaw Camp will be the only camp around Brevard to be provided with a stream for canoeing.
Work on the camp is now in progress, and it is the intention of the owners to have the construction work completed and everything in readiness for the opening of the coming summer season. When completed, the camp will include 1? cabins, each with two compartments and accommodating eight boys; a dining hall with a seating capacity of 200; a gymnasium equipped for basketball and other indoor sports; also a moving picture machine. A large concrete swimming pool with chlorinated water supply will ensure a constant supply of fresh, clean water. Numerous fresh water springs on the property will prove an abundance of water for all drinking and cooking purposes. Tennis courts, baseball diamond, running track, and provisions for all athletic activities will be located in the valley. The two-story home already on the property, the library and all outhouses are in good condition and will stand as at present located. R.H. Morrow, contracting engineer of Brevard, is in charge of all camp construction work.
The camp, it is claimed, will be situated not only in the most beautiful section of Western North Carolina but will be, when completed, one of the most thoroughly equipped and modern of the many camps that have been established in recent years. Notwithstanding the many summer camps in this section, Camp Chickasaw will be the first with a direct personal appeal to the boys of the Memphis territory. The name “Chickasaw” is taken from the name of a tribe of Indians formerly located near Memphis.
The location of this camp has a history that goes back more than half a century. The late Judge A. Forsythe, a former South Carolina planter of considerable wealth, in searching for a summer home, selected this site as the most altogether desirable in Western North Carolina, considering the scenery the most picturesque in the entire Blue Ridge section.
From the front page of the Brevard News, Feb. 11, 1926
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92074063/1926-02-11/ed-1/seq-1/
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