Remembering Woodland Camps
As I was looking at old postcards of the shoreline of Woodland Camps on Great Pond, I could not help but notice that the hook-shaped peninsula that juts out into the water in front of the lodge is missing. What was the story behind this manmade addition to the shoreline? Fortunately Rod Johnson had the answers to my questions.
When Chester Thwing established Woodland Camps in 1917 on a point of land that juts into Great Pond, there was no road through the woods down to the shore. Guests were taken from Belgrade Lakes Village to the camp by boat. Later in the 1920s, Chester Thwing Road was constructed from the Point Road to Woodland Camps.
In the beginning, Woodland Camps was primarily a fishing camp and later developed as a family vacation destination. In 1949, Chester Thwing along with his right-hand man and son in law, Don Mosher planned to build an elbow shaped peninsula in front of Woodland Camps to provide a safe harbor for motor boats used by guests at the camp. Laws governing shoreline zoning did not exist at this time, and owners of large pieces of shoreland were not restricted from construction on the shoreline. Thwing alerted local contractors who were busy building camp roads that he was looking for large rocks and fill to build his harbor. The digging and earthwork of the peninsula was done with a gas-powered Waukesha shovel, a later version of a steam shovel, likely by Paul Hammond. The construction took a couple of seasons to complete. Later a concrete ramp was installed to make boat launching and removal easier.
In 1977, Clayton and Betty Grant became the owners of Woodland Camps. An engineer with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Clayton was also a well-known carpenter of wooden signs. He made the WOODLAND CAMPS sign that is visible from the water of Great Pond. He also constructed the wooden welcome sign at the Belgrade Region Inc. tourist building on Route 27.
Today the Woodland Camps Association maintains the land on the peninsula. There has been a concentrated effort by the members of the association to preserve the landscape of the peninsula by following LakeSmart recommendations. The 7 Lakes Alliance Youth Conservation Corp have helped to stabilize the soil and deter erosion by planting blueberry bushes and adding rip-rap stones. The approximately 13-foot-long wooden sign is removed each winter and replaced in the spring. The point has become a favorite fishing spot for youngsters of Woodland Camps, and they are always happy to wave to passing boats.
Dianne Dowd is a member of the Belgrade Historical Society.
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