The History of Camp Elkanah

Camp Elkanah has it’s roots in the Mt. Emily Lumber Company, which was established back in 1924. August J. Stange, a lumberman from Wisconsin, began and built the Mt. Emily Lumber Company in La Grande on the present site of the Boise Cascade Mill. The first log was cut in the mill on November 30, 1925.

As the Mt. Emily Lumber Company began logging, they would set up camps for their employees. The first camp was set up at Five Points Creek (near Hilgard) in 1925. After that, the camp moved all over the area in the years of 1927, 1928, and 1930. It was first relocated upriver near Starkey and was called the “Grande Ronde River Camp”. Then, it made it’s way to McCoy Creek and stayed there until the camp found it’s present site on Meadow Creek, where it’s lived ever since. According to the Mt. Emily logging superintendent Mr. Bruce Morehead, the main consideration in locating the company camp to the present site was because of the availability of water from the many natural springs in the area that have a good flow year-round.

When the Mt. Emily Lumber Company began building the railroad through the area, there was only a small trail up the creek and absolutely no roads. There was an abundance of brush, small trees, and old timber that was cleared to make way for the company camp. By September of 1930, there were about 150 people who were living there, which served as Headquarters Camp for the Mt. Emily Lumber Company's base of operations. It was the final camp ever built by the company and it continued to operate until the company was sold in 1955.

Most of the buildings, including the houses, were owned by the Mt. Emily Lumber Company. However, a few families were able to own their own homes. The houses started out as nothing more than whitewashed boxcars that the families moved into, fixed up, and made them suitable for living out of. As the families began to grow and more people moved to the camp, the boxcars began to turn into real houses that formed a neighborhood. People even began to have yards and gardens as they lived out of their unique homes year-round. Cellars or caves were dug into the sides of the hillside to serve as low-tech refrigerators. (Some of these caves can still be seen.) Electricity was generated at the camp and the only thing lacking was bathroom facilities. Each house had a privy, but showers were taken in the community shower house. Approximately 24-30 children attended a two-room school which was actually built out of two railroad cars. Those same cars now serve as camper cabins and are named Samaria and Joppa.

The Mt. Emily Lumber Company closed down their camp and became a subsidiary of the Valsetz Lumber Company of Portland, Oregon in 1955. The railroad lines were removed and the lumber mill was brought to a halt. Then on November 13, 1956, the Mt. Emily Division of the Valsetz Lumber Company donated twelve acres of land plus the existing buildings to the Blue Mountain Conservative Baptist Association of Eastern Oregon (BMCBA). The purpose behind the generous donation to the Association was that the site and facilities be used to benefit the young people of Eastern Oregon. Since then, the camp has served various schools, civic organizations, and religious groups from all over the state.

Shortly after the Association acquired the property, a contest was sponsored to give the camp a name. The winning name chosen was Elkanah, which is a Hebrew name meaning "God has acquired for Himself”, "God has redeemed”, and “God has created”. In 1960, the Valsetz Lumber Company sold out to the Boise Cascade Company, which later on became interested in donating more to the camp. On April 28, 1986, Camp Elkanah obtained 170 additional acres from the Boise Cascade Company to further expand the camp programming. Oregon Highway 244 evenly divides the property into 90 acres of land on both sides of the highway.

Camp Elkanah now operates as a year-round facility offering summer camps, hosting events, and renting our facilities to others.

NOTE: We are always interested in collecting photos and memories of Camp Elkanah's. If you have a photo or story to share. Please email us: elkanah@campelkanah.com