Camp Fletcher
Camp Pauline Bray Fletcher is a 250-acre summer camp near Tannehill State Park at 5150 Fletcher Road in Bessemer. It is presently operated by the Camp Fire USA Central Alabama Council.
The camp was founded in 1926 by nurse Pauline Bray Fletcher as a convalescent camp for African American women and children. The original 57 acre property was expanded before 1947 with the purchase of an additional 80 acres acquired by bartering timber rights on the original camp.
After Bray's retirement, the camp's operations were assumed by the Girl's Service League, which became the Youth Service League.
On June 10, 1948 the camp was raided by members of the Ku Klux Klan who objected the camp employing both black and white staff members. The incident, along with a similar raid two days earlier at Camp Blossom Hill in Birmingham's Brummitt Heights neighborhood, prompted Birmingham attorney Abe Berkowitz to form a coalition of business and civic groups to demand better enforcement against Klan terrorism. In 1949 Governor Jim Folsom signed an "Anti-Masking Bill" aimed at reducing Klan activity.
Camp Fire USA began leasing the camp during the summers in 1981. The YSL merged with Camp Fire in 2003 in order to help preserve the camp. Currently Camp Fletcher boasts a 100-seat dining hall, three dormitory cabins, an outdoor environmental classroom, a swimming pool, low ropes course, and general store. Shades Creek provides opportunities for swimming and canoeing.
References
- A Brief History of Camp Pauline Bray Fletcher, 1926 to 1963: And a Biographical Sketch of Its Founder
- Watts, Carrie E. (August 1, 1948) "History and development of Camp Pauline Bray Fletcher, Bessemer, Alabama, with emphasis on the 1947 program" Master's Thesis, Atlanta University School of Social Work. ETD Collection for AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library. Paper 704.
External links
- Camp Fletcher at campfire-al.org