The News Journal reported that the 110 acres of the Boy Scout Camp was purchased by a private owner who lives on Clearfork Lake, and has no plans to develop it. They may use it for family outings and/or company picnics. The sales price was $380,000 but it was once listed for 1.4 million!
Camp Avery Hand operated in the area for 70 years and closed on July 2, 2008. The original Camp Avery Hand off Fleming Falls Road was purchased in 1927. Charles Ackerman donated the money in the name of his grandson. In 1940 the Boy Scouts purchased 75 acres on Orweiler Road, then transferred the camp there.
The bird sanctuary was leasing some land from the Council. In recent years, an agreement was reached by the Boy Scouts and the Ohio Bird Sanctuary to allow the neighboring nonprofit agency to buy acreage at the camp and its dining hall.
The Ohio Bird Sanctuary now owns about 90 acres of the former camp. They own what used to be the dining hall and they hope to one day renovate it into a visitor’s center. They use it now for wintering birds. In the summer they use it for some of their camps.
Pat and I drove out to the sanctuary today and walked the several miles of trails through the woods and down along the Clearfork. We looked in the windows of the Lodge and a sign said that 80 acres of land was donated to the Scouts in 1940 by the Olson’s, and the lodge was built in 1948 and is named Olson Lodge.
It was a beautiful fall day and we saw many birds along the way including a red shouldered hawk! I remembered walking down one of the paths to the Clearfork and the camp had a canoe landing area there. Terry Lake and I canoed the river and out onto the lake and we received our canoeing merit badge.
We plan to take Jack and Molly there some day and every day they feed the birds inside an aviary with mealworms. I can already see their happy faces as they feed the birdies!
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