ALTON - In the 1920s, the Alton Council, Court of Honor of Boy Scouts of America met once a month at the Elks’ Club to award badges of rank and to answer questions which could not be settled by the individual troop. In 1924, the Court of Honor set forth a contest to see which local troop could produce the most first-class scouts in a certain length of time. Troop No. 3 out of the Upper Alton Baptist Church won the contest, and the prize was a three-day trip to Abraham Lincoln’s New Salem. The Alton Evening Telegraph announced their win in the newspaper on June 26.
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The town of New Salem was platted in 1829 and Lincoln lived there from 1831 to 1837, but it only existed until the early 1840s before it was abandoned and left for pasture. New Salem became an Illinois State Park in 1919, and officially opened for visitors in 1921, though it wasn’t until the 1930s and 1940s that the Civilian Conservation Corps reconstructed the log buildings you can visit today.
There was much excitement in anticipation of the trip. The scouts planned to camp on a spot right next to the old home of Abraham Lincoln and to swim in the same creek that Lincoln swam in. They also planned to visit the state buildings in Springfield. However, the weather did not cooperate and the rivers were too high, so the scouts had to postpone their trip until mid-August. Instead, they voted unanimously to go to Camp Warren Levis (previously known as Camp Hawley) and spend the three days they had originally allotted for New Salem there, helping to get the swimming pool finished and the camp ready for the July dedication and the start of summer camp.
Sources
“Boy Scout News.” Alton Evening Telegraph, June 30, 1924.
“Home from Trip.” Alton Evening Telegraph, June 26, 1924.
"Greetings from New Salem State Park, Lincoln's New Salem Illinois." Card. 20 West 23rd St., N. Y. C.: G. N. Co., [ca. 1930–1945]. Digital Commonwealth, https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/8g84n101c (accessed June 27, 2024).
“Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site.” Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division. State of Illinois, 2024.
“Upper Alton – Scout Troop No. 3 Wins Trip to New Old Salem – Abraham Lincoln’s Old Home.” Alton Evening Telegraph, June 26, 1924.
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