Archive

(Last Updated – April 18, 2025)

Timeline (1912 to 1988) – A collection of newspaper clippings documenting the history of C. Walton Johnson’s Camp Sequoyah – Compiled by Steve Addison.

(Click on the heading or the image below to view the Timeline)

Catalogs – 1934 to 1977 – Promotional brochures for camper and staff recruitment.

(Click on the heading or click on the covers below to view the full length catalogs.)

Camp Sequoyah for Girls – Chief ran a two-week girls camp in mid-June during the 1928 and 1929 seasons. In October, 1929, he entered a partnership with Col. L. L. Rice, who ran Camp Nakanawa for girls, and the colonel insisted that Chief discontinue the girls camp because of a conflict of interest. When Chief bought out Col. Rice’s ownership stake in the late 1930s, he again ran a two-week girls camp from 1940-1943.

YMCA Camps – Before Sequoyah, Chief ran two YMCA camps. He founded and directed Camp Powatan during his time working for the Asheville YMCA. Camp Powhatan was located on what is today the Bent Creek Experimental Forest. He directed the camp before Lake Powhatan was built, but you can read a reference in the brochure about the future construction of the lake.

When he moved to the Portsmouth, Virginia YMCA in 1921, he directed Camp Sherwood, which was named in honor of C. S. Sherwood’s grandfather (C. S. Sherwood III, the grandson, was a long time staff member at Sequoyah). The camp was located on 45-acres within (or in close proximity to) what is today the Yorktown Battlefield site of the Colonial National Historic Park.

You can also see that several staff members followed Chief from Camp Powatan to Camp Sherwood to Camp Sequoyah – e.g., J. Mansfield Bailey and Sam Myrick.

(If you want a full copy, click on the catalog you want and use the download link on the right side of the page.)

Camper Rosters – Most of these rosters were created from camper applications, which were bound together each year by string between two pieces of cardboard. Most of these booklets have survived in tact over time, so most lists should be complete, with a few exceptions (from mouse damage) noted. These rosters show the name and home town of campers (and occasionally staff members) who attended Camp Sequoyah in any given year.

[We are missing the senior camp rosters for 1956-1958 and the 1st 5-week session from 1974. If you have copies of these rosters, I hope you can share. (wkuentze@gmail.com)]

The Tsaliman – As the logo says “Published now and then, by and for Tsalimen,” these documents provide detailed accounts of the early years of Camp Tsali building projects, activities, and experiences.

Annual Final Reports – At the end of the summer, the program director, head counselor, personnel director, tribal leaders, program area heads, and others submitted summaries of camp activities, operations, and suggestions for the future.

There’s a ton of information in these reports. For example the 1946 report includes all the Hobahcee sheets, or the daily program schedules with staff assignments. Beginning in the 1960s, they were weekly program schedules. We haven’t yet found all the Hobahcee sheets, but the ones we have provide an incredible record of daily camp life.

So, click on the links below and explore for a while.

Junior Camp Final Reports

This link shows a history of Christmas cards and Christmas Club letters mailed to Sequoyah campers across the years. It also includes the 1963 pamphlet of Christmas reflections written by Chief Johnson (pictured above).

Drama & Music Programs – Sequoyah during Chief Johnson’s time always maintained active music and drama departments. Here are the programs for a variety of evening concert and theater performances at camp that cover the years 1925 through 1963.

(Click on the heading or the image below to view the full length programs.)

Footnote to Sequoyah History – In 1948, a real estate firm in New York approached Chief about the possibility of selling Camp Sequoyah. At that time, Chief was blunt in turning them down. In 1965, however, Chief contacted the same real estate firm and enlisted their help. He said he was nearly 80 and was ready to retire, so he wanted to sell the camp by the end of the 1966 season. As we know, the sale never happened, but here is the correspondence between Chief and the Peck-Kerron Real Estate Company.