History
Built in 1938, as part of President Roosevelt’s New Deal, Camp Silver Creek was part of 46 Recreation Demonstration Areas created across the country. Since it’s founding, it has been operating as an overnight camp run by the YMCA. In 2002, Camp Silver Creek became one of 10 camps in the country to be on the national historic registry. Of those 10 camps, only five remain operational as summer camps, and Camp Silver Creek is both the only co-ed and only YMCA camp to be on the National Historic Registry.
Since 1939, boys had several weeks at camp alone and girls had one or two weeks depending on enrollment. Sometimes girls camp was at Silver Creek and sometimes at Smith Creek, the current site of the Silver Falls conference center.
In 1973, Mike Smith introduced co-ed camp, a dramatic departure from our traditional Boys camp and Girls camp. This caused quite a “stir”. The camp committee deliberated for several weeks about the advisability and the implications of a co-ed camp and finally agreed to a one-week trial session. It was a resounding success with 120 campers enrolled. Several years later, the camp committee agreed to have coed units, with boys and girls in separate cabins as we presently have.
