After snow-shoeing in to Ty (what is now our main lodge) in the winter of 1944-45, they fell in love with the site and purchased the land from Yale University. The very next June saw 19 campers and 5 counselors arrive for Deerwood's first summer. The camp was actually the site of the second oldest camp in the country, Camp Asquam , which existed from 1887 until 1912. Most of Asquam's buildings from the 1880s and 1890s are still functioning today at Deerwood in their same capacity (120 years later)! The oldest camp in the country was also on Squam: Camp Chocorua , on Church Island , ran from 1881 until 1890. Of the approximately 10 camps that have existed on the Squam Lakes over the last century, only two remain -- Deerwood and Camp Hale in Sandwich Bay .
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| The first few years at Deerwood were without electricity and ice was harvested off the lake each winter (then stored in what is now our food store house). |  Our Dinning Hall "Toots Shor", circa 1950 |
The original sleeping cabins were Waldorf, Ritz and the Infirmary.Ty, Toots Shor, the Shop, the Reservoir and the Stone Building were all also in use from the start. Through the 1940s and 50s, the camp grew quickly, necessitating the construction of new cabins, Chateau and Savoy.
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Few camp cabins in the 1940s had indoor plumbing and so the Deerwood cabins were named after the finest hotels. By 1960 there were 85 campers and 30 staff members, and today there are ten camper cabins housing approximately 130 campers. In the 1970s, Tommy and Len Thomsen took on the reins from their father and now Deerwood is being run by the third generation of Thomsens.
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The camp's main activities existed relatively unchanged for the first 40 years. In 1946, Deerwood may have been the first camp in the country to offer water-skiing as an activity. Since 1972 the Deerwood Forge has provided a very unique blacksmithing experience for campers. During the 1980s and 90s, some more recently popular sports like windsurfing, mountain-biking, kayaking and rock-climbing were introduced into the line-up of activities at Deerwood. The overnight trips have always been popular and still consist primarily of backpacking and canoeing adventures. A few new destinations are explored each year, while some of the trips have been Deerwood traditions for over 60 years. |
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Deerwood has always been very lucky to have a high percentage of campers and staff return year after year, and has been a summer home to young men from more than 45 states and 29 countries. In 1994, the Deerwood Foundation was established to financially assist needy families in sending their sons to Deerwood. Three scholarships were awarded in 1995 and now over twenty boys receive scholarships each summer.
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