Camp Paxson
Camp Paxson, named for famed Montana artist Edgar S. Paxson, began as a 4 acre tent camp for boys in the early 1920s. Originally established by noted U.S. Forest Service photographer (and Boy Scout leader) K.D. Swan, Camp Paxson soon outgrew its limited accommodations. During the 1930s, under the guidance of Forest Service Engineer Clyde Fickes and with the assistance of the Depression Era Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration, the Forest Service removed the tent camp and undertook construction of roughly 20 other structures. The impressive main lodge, completed in 1939, measures 76 X 60 feet and is constructed entirely of western larch logs. Located at the outlet of Seeley Lake, Camp Paxson served not only as a Boy Scout Camp, but also housed Camp Fire Girls, Girl Scouts and 4-H groups.
The newly organized Forest Service Smokejumpers briefly used Camp Paxson as a training center during the early 1940s. Following the end of World War II, the site returned to its primary function as a youth camp. All of these activities functioned under a special use permit from the Forest Service. The Missoula Children’s Theater, which assumed the permit to operate the camp in 1995, carries on the tradition of offering quality summer educational and recreational opportunities to Montana’s youth. At the same time, the now approximately 15 acre site nestled among spectacular old growth western larch is available to host special groups, weddings and reunions from May through the end of September.Credits and Sources:
Mildred Chaffin, “The Double Arrow Ranch” in The Seeley Lake Writers Club,Cabin Fever: A Centennial Collection of Stories About the Seeley Lake Area, Vernon Publishing and Printing (1989) pp 179 – 181.
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Camp Paxson Boy Scout Camp, prepared by Kirby Matthew and C. Milo McLeod (1986).
Historical photo provided by Seeley Lake Historical Society
