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Nope. Montclair council, headquartered in Montclair, NJ formed in 1913 and was renamed Eagle Rock Council in 1931. (Eagle Rock merged in 1946 and became Essex, and is now in Northern New Jersey Council).

 

And, nope! The National Council was incorporated as a council in 1979 when the National Office moved to Irving, Texas. Before than it was just the National Office / National Headquarters in New Brunswick NJ (1954-1979) and New York, NY (1910-1954).

 

;)

 

Here's a hint: I'll bet our buddy Kahuna knows the asnwer...

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Well Trev,

 

I have a copy of the bylaws of the first official council chartered by the National Office in my archive...I'll attempt to answer your trivia tomorrow...I'm old and have a bad memory. Interesting question.

 

miki

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Ed, well, I don't know who is correct - my data show Montclair as forming in 1913. What infor do you have? Anyways, as Eamonn points out, the question was seeking the oldest council (not the first formed).

 

Miki - When I posted the trivia I seriously thought of excluding you as a professional Scouting historian who was certain to know the answer, but then I knew that wouldn't be fair! ;) I'm sure your sources are going to be much better than mine!

 

And so, (with a hint) Crew21 takes Round 1! The oldest continuously incorporated council in the US is Maui County Council, headquartered in Wailuku, Maui, HI, which formed in 1915. Second is Alameda Council in Alameda, CA, formed in 1917.

 

Here's an easier one: Which state currently has the most councils? (and bonus round: which state has had the most total councils?)

 

 

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I think I remember reading that Councils started registering with National in 1913.

In our area Boy Scouting first appeared in the Westmoreland Fayette counties in 1911. In 1920 a First-Class Council was organized at Uniontown in Fayette County.

Depending on how you look at being "First" things can take on new meanings. Some of our Wagion Lodge 6 members maintain that Wagion is the second oldest Lodge in the USA, but it gets complicated when you get into merged and un-merged.

Back home in the UK a lot of Troops claim to be the First Boy Scout Troop,but trying to document this is hard. Then you have things like continuous operation and Troops that merged.

The Troop I was in was an early Troop, but along the way we had two other failed units join us. Then about 20 years ago (After I moved over here) It merged again and became the 11/17 Fulham.

Eamonn.

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According to offical BSA records, the first Council - "Local Council #1" - not troop, was chartered by the National Office on August 31, 1910 in the name of "Kinderhook Township, Columbia County, NY."

 

I have the copies of the Constitutionand By-Laws in my historical files.

 

David C. Scott

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Today, California has the most councils at 24, followed by New York and Texas tied at 19 each.

 

Historically, New York has had the most councils. A total of 167 different councils have been registered in New York state! Of these, 148 have merged or disbanded. New York is followed by Pennsylvania (156), Illinois (141), and distantly by Texas (116) and California (113).

 

The earliest councils seem to be Chicago, Columbus Ohio, and Burlington Vermont, all incorporated in 1910 (along with the National Office in New York). 1911 saw Saint Louis, Brooklyn, Delaware and Montgomery County (Philadelphia), Norfolk (Virginia), and Greater Boston.

 

 

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Today, California has the most councils at 24, followed by New York and Texas tied at 19 each.

 

Historically, New York has had the most councils. A total of 167 different councils have been registered in New York state! Of these, 148 have merged or disbanded. New York is followed by Pennsylvania (156), Illinois (141), and distantly by Texas (116) and California (113).

 

The earliest councils seem to be Chicago, Columbus Ohio, and Burlington Vermont, all incorporated in 1910 (along with the National Office in New York). 1911 saw Saint Louis, Brooklyn, Delaware and Montgomery County (Philadelphia), Norfolk (Virginia), and Greater Boston.

 

 

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Thanks Trev!

 

In addition, Montclair's original constitution was adopted April 1911.

 

What months were Chicago, Vermont and Ohio chartered? Were they officially recognized by the National Office? And yes, the National Council was chartered as the "National Council" before any of this. I would very much like to have copies of your information for my files (I get asked this from time to time). Can you source this information?

 

David C. Scott

 

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