Scouts Have Been Enjoying Cantigny for Decades!

In a 1934 letter, Colonel McCormick wrote, “Can I be of any use to the Boy Scout movement by allowing the Scouts to use my woods near Wheaton for scout work?” After receiving a grateful answer, he officially opened his estate to the Scouts.

The first campout, in November 1934, was deemed “a successful experiment” by Colonel McCormick, and Scouts and youth groups have enjoyed camping, hiking, fishing, and exploration at Cantigny ever since.

When Cantigny became a public park in July 1958, three years after Colonel McCormick’s death and gift of his estate to the people of Illinois, Boy Scouts began to use the park for large scale events, including::

• 1964 DuPage Area Council Spring Camporal
• 1967 DuPage Area Council Klondike Gold Rush
• 1969 DuPage Area Council Klondike Derby
• 1978 Illiniwek District Spring Camporee
• 1985 DuPage Area Council Klondike Derby
• 2008 Chanonee Council Klondike Derby
• 2008 Three Fires Council Scout-O-Rama

Did you attend a Scout event at Cantigny during the 1940s-1980s? We would love to hear your stories and see your pictures. Please call 630.260.8162 or email Scouts@Cantigny.org to share them.