The Camp Fire Club of America was founded in 1897 by William T. Hornaday, the first director of the Bronx Zoo and noted conservationist widely credited with saving the American bison from extinction. The club was aimed at hunters, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Ernest Thompson Seton was one of 34 charter members of the Camp Fire Club of America. Seton was an enthusiastic member and served as the club’s third president in 1910.
Seton designed the club’s logo, illustrated here.
Seton often hosted the club at Wyndygoul and was a frequent toastmaster at its well-publicized dinners in New York City.
Seton often hosted the club at Wyndygoul, such as the annual outing for 1912, shown here from the August 1912 edition of Field and Stream, which was then the official organ of the club.
He was also a frequent toastmaster at its well-publicized dinners in New York City.
The Camp Fire Club remains an active organization today and is based in Chappaqua, New York. As a private club, the Camp Fire Club is not open to the public. It pursues its conservation goals through its Camp Fire Conservation Fund, Inc.
When the National Scouting Museum at Philmont in Cimmaron, NM, opened in 2018, a plaque commemorating the long relationship of the Club with the Boy Scouts of America was dedicated. This plaque notes Seton’s involvement and Daniel Carter Beard, another BSA founder.
