Tanadoona Retrospective
As we celebrate Camp Fire's Centennial, we look back at the history of Camp Tanadoona - how it has changed to fit the times while staying, at its heart, much the same as when it opened in 1924.
March 22, 2010
In the early years, Camp Fire's Camp Tanadoona, on the shores of Lake Minnewashta, was a backwoods destination camp for girls in the Twin Cities. Campers would travel the long distance from the cities to Camp Tanadoona by streetcar, and when they got to camp, they felt like they were out in the middle of the wilderness.
Today, the city of Chanhassen has grown up around Camp Tanadoona. What was once a long journey from Minneapolis has become a quick drive, and the “wilderness” has sprouted a thriving community with its own urban core. Despite the many changes taking place around it, Camp Tanadoona remains, at its core, much the same as when it first opened its doors in the 1920s.
Camp Tanadoona sits on the former summer home of Governor John Lind, Minnesota’s 14th governor. Born in Sweden, Governor Lind was at the forefront of the progressive movement in Minnesota. Camp Fire purchased the property, which included Lind’s mansion and a number of other buildings, in 1922.
Girls came to Camp Tanadoona to build outdoor skills and learn independence. In the early years, campers slept in tents among the trees, but cabins were built in the late 1920s to provide a more permanent camping experience. The mansion and other buildings of Governor Lind’s summer home were repurposed as camp buildings, and the mansion still stands overlooking Lake Minnewashta.
Camp Fire expanded in the 1970s to welcome boys as well as girls, but summers at Camp Tanadoona have continued with many of the same activities and traditions as when the camp first opened. Campers still sing songs each day, and every session closes with a traditional Council Fire. For many years, this Council Fire would take place on the lakefront, with the campfire built in Lake Minnewashta so that its flames danced just off the shore.
Starting in the 1960s, as Camp Tanadoona began to feel like less of an exotic destination for campers in the Twin Cities, the camp shifted its focus to include trips up to the Boundary Waters and other parts of northern Minnesota. Campers learn canoeing and backpacking skills, then test their mettle with backwoods trips. To commemorate these trips, campers signed and decorated canoe paddles that hang in Tasiago, the camp’s dining hall. Today, Camp Tanadoona’s trip sessions travel to Camp Bluewater, a Camp Fire camp in the Chippewa National Forest.
Camp Tanadoona continues to provide an authentic summer camp experience with a Northwoods feel. Many campers come for multiple weeks throughout the summer and cherish their time spent in the woods and on the lake. The camp has also gained an international flair, with counselors from around the world.
