History of YMCA Trout Lodge & Camp Lakewood

1946 - 1976
Once upon a time, a spring of clear 55-degree pure water broke through the limestone sub-surface in the trout pond area. How long ago, we don't know. Indians must have used it; people still find arrowheads. Early settlers in the valley probably ate the watercress and drank the water.

In 1910, a man named August Lauth, who had come from Paris, France with the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, developed trout hatcheries here. He diverted the spring creek into breeding ponds and troughs, used the water wheel previously developed for power to operate a saw mill, raised rainbow trout, packed them in ice, sent them by wagon and train to St. Louis to be served in fancy hotels and restaurants.

In 1926, a group of St. Louis families bought land at the trout ponds, used the water wheel for electricity, built a club house (West Hall), eight log cabins, cabins A & B and a swimming pool. Some of those men were YMCA board members, and in 1946 the property was all sold to the YMCA. It became a small conference center for 75 people and was appropriately named Trout Lodge.

Bunker Hill School (Cabin 22), and Bunker Hill Baptist Church were still in use. There were families along the Fourché Renault River. Some of those families are buried in the two cemeteries, the older one below the dam dating before the Civil War, and a later one, now inside the log rail fence. Lead mining developed by the French helped support the families. The Y has filled in 13 mine shafts on the east side of the Lake.

Meanwhile, YMCA Camp Taconic on the Meramec River near Eureka was worn out and overcrowded, so plans were made to move the camp to this area. The spring measured 3,000,000 gallons of water per day (it still does) for an inexhaustible water supply. The river would allow a play area.

Mr. Joseph Sunnen, a self-made and generous man, who developed Sunnen Products Company and Emko Company, offered to buy land and build a small 35-acre lake. Mr. Sunnen personally supervised the construction of a one-mile dam to impound the Fourché Renault River to form, not a small lake, but a 360- acre lake, one-mile long with a five-mile shoreline. He purchased earth-moving equipment and a portable electric plant to enable men to work around the clock to finish the lake in 1948 and have it ready for operation of a new boys' camp in the summer of 1949. This camp was in the area of cabins 9 to 16. Its dining hall was Center Hall.

Mr. Sunnen later developed the Sunnen Employee Recreation Area on the south end of the lake. Company employees used that area free of charge. He also assisted the Cahokia Council Boy Scouts (Granite City, IL) in building a summer camp adjacent to his property. The Sunnen Foundation assisted in purchasing land and developing the present Camp Lakewood. It continues support of the development of the total area, having contributed over $1,000,000 in land, roads, and buildings. One of the latest gifts was $250,000 for the new dining hall in Trout Lodge (Lakewood Dining Hall since 1986).

Roy Congdon supervised the development of the area since 1950. Many individuals and foundations have donated buildings, equipment, and services to the camp here. The property has grown from 167 to 1000 acres and from 11 to over 100 buildings. Development includes:

1946: Purchase of log cabin area.
1948: Completion of dam.
1949: Opening of original Camp Lakewood.
1955: Closing of public lake road & building of new road from Highway 8 to Trout Lodge.
1956-57: Construction of a new Camp Lakewood.
1957: William H. Danforth Chapel dedicated.
1962: Completion of Indian Guide Tepee (gift of Indian Guides of U.S. as a tribute to Harold Kelter, St. Louis executive who, with an Ojibway Indian, Joe Friday, founded the move ment in 1926). Over 7.5 million people have participated in Indian Guides in 50 years.
1965: New lake front dining room opened for Trout Lodge.

Camp Lakewood, adjacent to Trout Lodge, is operated from June to August as a separate camp. It is for boys and girls, age nine through sixteen. It has space for 240 campers, plus a staff of 70 people, and it offers a variety of programs. In addition to the main camp activities, it has special camps for riding, tripping, a work camp, and two leadership training programs, L.I.T. and C.I.T.

There are six 9-day sessions at Lakewood, with a couple days in between sessions. Campers come largely from the metropolitan St. Louis area. The counseling staff is largely college students from the midwest.

Lakewood meets the high qualifications of the standards for the YMCA and the American Camping Association. The Director is DeWitt Smith, and this is his third session.

"Written as of 1976"
Roy Congdon, Executive Director
YMCA of the Ozarks

1976 - 1999
In the early 1980's the YMCA of the Ozarks Board began its most ambitious expansion and reconstruction in its entire history. As a result of the first long-range Master Plan ever, this facility made the transition from seasonal to year-round and positioned itself for the new Millennium. Where Camp Lakewood is now located was once the YMCA Trout Lodge and family cabins. At that time, Camp Lakewood was located south of the Danforth Chapel. Some of the projects achieved are:

• All of the infrastructure, water, sewers, electric, telephones and roads were upgraded or rebuilt.
• Camp Lakewood was abandoned and took over the Trout Lodge cabins.
• The Trout Lodge dining hall became the new Lakewood dining hall, later to be air-conditioned and completely remodeled.
• An entirely new set of Trout Lodge cabins were built further south on the lake.
• A new 80-room lodge and dining facility, Trout Lodge (The Sunnen Center), was built along with a new entrance road and parking facilities.
• The old Camp Lakewood cabins were moved across the lake to form a new area called East Camp. These cabins were repaired and grouped around a new pavilion, which included showers and restrooms.
• A new horse-riding arena was built.
• Two new equestrian barns, a tack shop, and ranch office were built.
• Several new horse trails as well as pedestrian hiking trails were built and mapped for user convenience.
• At the same time about 3,000 additional acres of surrounding land were purchased bringing the total acreage in the reservation to over 5,000 acres.
• A new nine-hole golf course was built and opened to serve YMCA guests and citizens of Washington County.
• The Fourché Valley Charitable Trust was founded to manage the golf course and provide support for the YMCA and Washington County.
• Sunnen Lake was dredged to deepen the entire upper half, removing 164,000 cubic yards of dirt.
• A four-wheel drive firetruck was purchased to establish on-site protection.
• New multi-group Camp Lakewood cabins were added to enhance Camp Lakewood.
• The Chapel was completely renovated and a kitchen and restrooms were added as well as a new H.V.A.C. to make it a year-round facility.
• All boat docks, bridges, and ramps were replaced with new ones built on-site.
• Sunnen Lake dam was modified to meet the latest standards and is now a federally licensed facility.
• A new multi-purpose recreational building was constructed, complete with full sized basketball court.
• New tennis courts, boathouse, swimming area, athletic field and miniature golf course were completed along with a children's lakefront playground.

All of the above items were accomplished between 1984 and 1999 because of the dedication and vision of both the volunteers and staff of the YMCA of the Ozarks as well as the incredible support of Bob Sunnen, the Sunnen Foundation, and many other companies and friends throughout the community.

"Written as of 1999"
Jim Berthold, Board Member
YMCA of the Ozarks