Camp Shawnee was formed in 1951 when the Lonesome Pine Council of the Boy Scouts of America, in conjunction with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, decided to have a camp in Eastern Kentucky to support scouting programs in the area. The Lonesome Pine Council was made up of most of the counties in Eastern Kentucky, and three counties from Southwestern Virginia. The first permanent building that was
built was the Parker Memorial Chapel. The Chapel was dedicated to John T. The next building that was built was the dining hall and then the Scoutmaster’s Cabin. The camp consists of some 300 acres and the access road was constructed in the summer of 1951. The first use of the camp, as an overnight scout camp, seems to have been in the summer of 1952. The Lonesome Pine Council also had at least two swimming pools at this site during two different periods. From the early 1950’s through the 1960’s, Camp Shawnee served the needs of many young men from the region for several years as a Boy Scout Camp. The 1970’s seem to have been a turning point for Camp Shawnee. The camp started a slow decline in its usage and its maintenance during this time frame. By the early 1980’s, the camp was only being used by a couple of Scout Troops on a limited basis, and the overall condition of the buildings and grounds was deteriorating. In 1985, the Boy Scouts of America gave up their lease on Camp Shawnee. In 1987, the Christian Appalachian Project signed a 30-Year renewable lease with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the 300 acre tract of Camp Shawnee. CAP founder, Father Ralph W. Beiting, always had a warm spot in his heart for camp programs for youth. Father Beiting had already formed two other camps in Eastern Kentucky before looking at Camp Shawnee as a possible CAP program. Then the work began. Downed trees were cut, vines and weeds were cleared, bulldozers moved the earth, and the road into Camp Shawnee was repaired. The existing buildings were repaired, and some of the old storage buildings were torn down, along with the Scoutmaster’s Cabin. During the next couple of years, CAP built two dormitories, a multipurpose building (Office/Lounge), and constructed a new swimming pool. CAP used the camp for youth camps during that first year of the lease (1987). Since this early period of CAP’s building at Camp Shawnee has evolved into a camp that serves the region in many different aspects, but the Christian Appalachian Project’s Camp Shawnee has always kept Father Beiting’s dreams of faith alive in the youth it serves.
