OUR HISTORY
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Camp Howe has been helping kids grow since 1928.
Our story begins with William F. Howe, a leader in the early Massachusetts 4-H movement. Camp history tells of Howe traveling to Washington, D.C., where a camping experience on the White House lawn helped inspire him to bring organized camping home to young people in Massachusetts.
In 1928, Howe helped arrange for Hampshire County 4-H youth to attend camp at Greenwich Lake in Enfield, Massachusetts. Just 40 campers attended that first session, paying $5 each, including $3.75 for meals. Girls stayed in the farmhouse while boys slept in tents nearby.
Howe died unexpectedly that same year. In recognition of a man deeply loved and respected by 4-H youth and leaders, the camp was named Camp Howe in his honor.
Camp Howe moved around in its early years before settling at a site in Belchertown. That site was eventually lost with the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir and Quabbin Dam and today lies about beneath the water.
From there, Camp Howe found its permanent home in Goshen, Massachusetts. The property was purchased in 1939 for just $1, with an additional parcel of land later donated, creating the 52-acre property we know today. The Goshen site welcomed its first campers in 1940.
Over the decades, Camp Howe grew to serve 4-H youth from the four western counties of Massachusetts—Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire. Much of the camp was built and maintained by volunteers, whose time, skills and commitment helped create the Camp Howe generations of campers have called home.
Over the decades, Camp Howe grew from a small 4-H camp into the inclusive summer camp community we know today. Our long history of inclusive programming has helped make belonging and acceptance an important part of who we are.
The ECHO program began in 1971 through Northeastern University as an innovative camp program bringing youth with disabilities and youth without disabilities together through shared camp experiences. After operating at several locations, ECHO came to Camp Howe as a “camp within a camp,” with campers participating alongside the larger Camp Howe community.
In 1991, Camp Howe took over administration of ECHO, further integrating the program into camp life. What began as a groundbreaking experiment in inclusive camping became an integral part of Camp Howe and helped shape our long-standing belief that camp is better when children of different abilities and backgrounds live, laugh, learn and play together.
In 2019, Camp Howe introduced gender-inclusive cabins, expanding our commitment to creating a camp community where every young person can feel comfortable, accepted and part of the community.
Along the way, Camp Howe has been twice recognized by the American Camp Association with the Eleanor P. Eells Award for Program Excellence and has received numerous local and regional awards, including recognition from Boston Parents and local Readers' Rave awards for being the best summer camp in the valley.
For our first 95 years, Camp Howe was affiliated with Massachusetts 4-H. In 2024, Massachusetts 4-H ended its formal affiliation with the five 4-H camps in the state. Camp Howe continued forward as the independent nonprofit organization it had long been.
Nearly a century after our beginning, much has changed. What hasn't changed is our belief in the power of camp, community, belonging and giving young people a place to grow.
