Camp Coker Trust
Scouting had started using 80 acres of land near Society Hill for summer camp in approximately 1928. These 80 acres including what is now the “core” of Camp Coker, including the lake.
In 1932, the owner of those 80 acres, Mr. Joseph Norwood, sold them to five men, one of whom was himself, Joseph Norwood. The other four men were reportedly a friend of Mr. Norwood, an employee of Mr. Norwood and two sons of Charles W. Coker. The Coker family started and owned Sonoco.
Four years later, these five men conveyed the properly into a trust with three Trustees. The deed indicates that the purpose of the trust is to:
To hold and enjoy the free and uninterrupted control, possession and use of said premises for the benefit of Boy Scouts or any and all other organizations sponsoring recreational and outdoor life in camping for boys and girls with the right to grand the use of said premises to any other organization that might have occasion to use same without profit.
This was the beginning of the Camp Coker Trust (“the Trust”). In addition to the control noted above, the three Trustees were empowered to appoint replacement Trustees if they quit or passed away.
Through the years, additional property adjoining Camp Coker (“Camp”) was donated or purchased. Some was later sold. Camp, as it is today, ended up totalling approximately 335 acres.
At one point, all the Camp property was deeded out of the trust and deeded directly to the Pee Dee Area Council. About a year or so later, it was deeded back from the Council to the Trust. It is not certain why this was done, but it is believed that the Scout Executive realized that National Boy Scouts of America prohibited the Council from owning any property of which they do not have a fee simple title (that means total control without any restrictions).
The last three Trustees of the Camp Coker trust in the 20th century were Mr. G. Werber Bryan, Mr. E. Ervin Dargin and Mr. Leonard L. Hutchinson. They all passed away and no one was appointed successor trustee.
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, scouting was facing some challenges and changes. At one point, the Region Director asked the board of directions of the Pee Dee Area Council to consider not having summer camp at Camp. At that time, National Boy Scouts of America had determined Scouting probably had too many scout camps. They thought that the scout camps were a financial burden on the scouting movement. At that time, the Pee Dee Area Council board did not stop running summer camp at Camp. However, the request by National brought up the old topic about the Camp Coker trust. Mr. Eddie Drayton of Hartsville had been the chair of the Council’s Property Committee for many years. He had a lot of paperwork regarding the Trust. Mr. David Lee had some paperwork as well. The Pee Dee Area Council board decided to see what they could do make sure that Camp could continue as originally intended.
Additional research was done about the Trust. It was clear that all the trustees had passed away. South Carolina law indicates that the beneficiaries of a trust with no trustees can petition the South Carolina Attorney General to appoint new trustees. The Pee Dee Area Council board voted to petition to have Dr. Webb Jones, Mr. David Lee and Mr. Walt Barefoot named as the three new Trustees.
Mr. Eddie Drayton and Mr. Walt Barefoot met with Attorney Jay James in Darlington. Mr. James had a strong scouting background. Attorney James prepared the petition for the South Carolina Attorney General. On March 30, 2016, the South Carolina Attorney General approved the appointment of the proposed three new Trustees.
To make sure that all of the deeds and paperwork were correct, Attorney Andrew McLeod of Cheraw, working with Attorney Porter Stewart of Florence, did the research on the titles and made sure that all of the deeds were adjusted correctly.
In addition to the property already in the trust at Camp Coker, the Pee Dee Area Council board of directors also transferred ownership of the scout service center building in Florence to the Trust. In addition, a trust fund of money was created to help support Camp Coker.
After being appointed as the new Trustees of the Trust, Dr. Jones, Mr. Lee and Mr. Barefoot drafted and passed new bylaws. Subsequent to that, they elected two new Directors, Mr. Phil Bethune and Mr. Tim Norwood.
Subsequent to the revitalization of the Camp Coker trust, the National Boy Scout program went through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In addition, the Pee Dee Area Council merged with the Indian Waters Counsel and is now named Indian Waters Counsel. Camp Coker is one of two camps, along with Camp Barstow in Columbia, serving the scouting program in the new Indian Waters council.