A visit to Camp Francis past

KENT — It was a stroll down memory lane and one that for several in attendance hadn’t happened since 1973 as past campers and camp staff gathered on the grounds of the former Camp Francis for a reunion and hike sponsored by the Kent Land Trust and Kent Historical Society (KHS) on Saturday, July 25.

The hike offered the former campers and other visitors the chance to explore the property and to reminisce about all the good times they had during their summers spent away from home. The group stopped at different sites along the way, including the flagpole where campers were called to meals, and the foundation of the dining hall, with its stone chimney still intact.

Among the alumni were campers from the 1940s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Even though it had been decades since they’d been back, the campers had a similar response to their reunion. They said they were filled with happiness and joy and a sense of finally returning home to a place where so many wonderful times had been shared.

Campers Margaret “Flipper” Pyrch-Bowlan, Valerie “Sherlock” Carlson, Samantha “India” Anderson and counselor Joyce “Pokey” Oberthal were still able to perfectly perform an old camp tradition: “Dum Dum Dada,” with choreographed hand movements.

The event was held in conjunction with the KHS exhibit, “Camps of Kent: Memories of Summer,” which looks at the history of the many summer camps that have existed in town over the years. It is open for viewing at the society’s Seven Hearths Museum.

Prior to Camp Francis, the north end of the property, located just south of Segar Mountain Road on Kent Hollow Road, was home to Kent’s first iron forge, Morgan’s Forge, which was established in 1740. 

With the creation of the forge, commercial activity began to boom in the area, leading to the establishment of one of the town’s first settlements, East Kent Hamlet, which had a Methodist church, a post office and a store. 

The area also was home to Bronson’s Mills, a series of saw and grist mills that were powered by the West Aspetuck River, which ran through two ponds on the property.

Following the closing of the iron forge and mills, the property was purchased by a wealthy businessman from southern Connecticut and turned into a country home for his family as well as a farm.

Following a recommendation from the famous Amos & Andy radio team and with the support of Sen. Alice Merritt, a one-week fundraising campaign was started in March 1930 that raised $41,133 to purchase the property and build an overnight camp for roughly 500 Girl Scouts from Greenwich, Darien and New Canaan. The camp was named after Ellen Francis Phillips, of Phillips Milk of Magnesia, who had made a significant donation to the camp.

Camp Francis remained open for campers to come each summer until 1991, when it closed. It did, however, continue to host occasional groups of Girl Scouts into the 2000s, before its official closing around 2005, according to Kent Land Trust President Bill Arnold.

The land trust purchased the property in February 2014 and officially opened it as a nature preserve for passive recreation that August.

Funds to purchase the land were raised through several grants, including a $500,000 Connecticut Open Space and Watershed Area Land Acquisition Grant, $520,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Highland Conservation Program and $110,000 from the town of Kent. Public donations made up the remaining roughly $600,000 needed to purchase the property.