When Camp Jewell moved to Colebrook, CT in 1955, construction began on our first set of cabins, which still stand to this day. While they have been renovated over the years, the buildings themselves are original, and have each served thousands of people. As we prepare to ready camp for the next 70 years, sadly we must begin to remove some of these places that many of us have called home. This April we began the decommissioning of Cabin 3, the first cabin that will be replaced to make way for the next era.
Buildings often have a spirit to them as if they are another being in our camp environment. Like an old house being moved out of, there is an emotion to seeing it go. As we continue to build new cabins, we’d like to take a moment to appreciate all of the time and effort that went into constructing, updating, and maintaining these buildings, without which Camp Jewell would not be what it is today!
While we are sad to see our cabins go, we are excited for our plans for the future. Our next cabin, which we have just broken ground on, will be completed by the end of this summer. After that, we will be removing two more original cabins to break ground on the next two new cabins. All in all, donations an grants of $1.5 million dollars will allow us to complete this next round of construction, but our ambition doesn’t stop there! With an eye toward the next 50 years of Camp Jewell, we will be looking to replace or renovate every cabin and building at camp, but we need your help! If you would like to be involved in our capital campaign, please don’t hesitate to reach out!