09/15/2026
Congratulations to Brown Ledge Camp on Malletts Bay, celebrating 100 years! WCAX TV covered the story at https://www.wcax.com/2026/08/26/vermonts-brown-ledge-camp-celebrates-century
More history:
Brown Ledge Camp for girls, ages 10-17, was originally Champlain Camp, a boys' camp established in 1897. In 1927, Harry and Marjorie Brown took over, renaming it Brown Ledge Camp and operated it for the first 30 years. Their daughter, Barbara Winslow, took on the role as camp director in the 1960s.
When Barbara stepped down as the director in 1983, she appointed Bill and Kathy Neilsen to take her position as co-directors of the camp. For more than 35 years, the Neilsens upheld the traditions
established by the Brown family while steering the camp successfully into the 21st century. When Bill and Kathy retired in 2018, the board of directors of the Brown Ledge Foundation conducted a search for its fourth director and welcomed Abby Lovshin-Smith to the role. Today, Hilary Strimple Chiang serves as executive director and Brooks Johnson is camp director.
Former camp director Bill Neilsen, in speaking about what separates Brown Ledge Camp from others, said it “stems from the two approaches used by the camp. As far as the activities program goes, the female campers attend what they want, when they want, with whom they wish, for as long as they wish. For instance, if they only want to sail for the four or eight weeks, they can do that. However, usually they try a bit of everything before they decide on what to concentrate. The other difference is in their living quarters. Four to five girls stay in a cabin together. They can decorate it the way they want, etc. Their counselor lives close by but separate, and is readily available should they need her. We enable the girls to make their own decisions, to live independently – they have the opportunity for self-discovery and self-realization.”
Brown Ledge Camp is located on Malletts Bay and offers activities that include horseback riding, tennis, archery, riflery, watersports, arts and crafts, and theater arts. For more history and information please visit http://www.brownledge.org.
Sources:
- Photo courtesy of the David Coates family and Greg Dirmaier
- Chronicles of Colchester by Inge Schaefer (The History Press, 2009)
- http://www.brownledge.org
