Camp Manhattan, for Manhattan Scouts, opened here in 1930. It was operated by Manhattan Council, and was one of the original TMR Borough Camps. The camp was opened to all NYC Scouts and renamed Camp Keowa, in 1955. Keowa operated four two-week periods each summer and cost a Scout $36 to attend the first period in 1956.
Camp Keowa is best known for beautiful Crystal Lake and plentiful sports facilities. The first campers slept in 8-person open-air cabins and lean-tos, replaced in later years by tent sites.
Scouts used a waterfront on Crystal Lake.
The pine trees between the
Retreat Field and Crystal Lake grew to considerable height since they were planted in the 1950s.
The Michael Friedsam Memorial Hall (camp dining hall) is one of the oldest structures standing at TMR, constructed in 1936. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Paul Wallingford Todd Memorial Museum of Natural History (camp handicrafts lodge) during his brief visit to Camp Manhattan on August 23, 1933.
Camp Rondack opened in 1945 as Rondack Division, Camp Manhattan, operating until
1955. Rondack was the first experiment in the modern style of "Troop Camping." In
1976, the camp was largely merged into Camp Keowa.