The Peapack-Gladstone Scout Cabin

The Scout Cabin in the northwest corner of Liberty Park in Peapack, NJ, holds a rich history that reflects years of community service and tradition for the generations who have gathered within its walls. Built during the Great Depression, the cabin is believed to be the only Civil Works Administration (CWA) project specifically for the Boy Scouts. The log-cabin-style building consists of one large meeting area approximately 35 feet long by 20 wide, six 8-foot by 8-foot rooms and two lofts.

Background

The CWA was a short-lived jobs program established under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration during the Great Depression to rapidly create manual-labor jobs for about 4 million unemployed workers during the winter of 1933-34.  During the program’s five-month duration, CWA workers laid 12 million feet of sewer pipe, built or improved 255,000 miles of roads, and constructed 40,000 schools, 3,700 playgrounds, nearly 1,000 airports and one log cabin. 

Troop 57 Scoutmaster Harold Horton and county engineer and designer Oscar Smith went to Washington, D.C. to get permission to build the cabin with CWA funds. They received a budget of $2,500 for the project. Logs were harvested by CWA workers at the borough-owned water reservoir property in Chester, New Jersey.  The construction was supervised by Thomas Howard, who built and operated the Peapack Hotel (formerly the Howard House hotel), at the corner of Main Street and Holland Avenue, now the site of Hamilton Court. Construction began on March 12, 1934, and the completed structure was dedicated on June 9, 1934. Following a parade through town, Mayor Reginald B. Rives served as master of ceremonies and New Jersey Governor A. Harry Moore made the dedication.

The Scout Cabin was home for Troop 57 until the troop folded and merged with Troop 150 in Bernardsville around 1990. The cabin then served for a time as the weekly meeting place for the Lone Eagle Composite Squadron of the New Jersey Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. Following the departure of the air patrol, the cabin was used principally for storage by the borough.

Restoration 2023

While the borough had added a new roof to protect the structure, the Scout Cabin had not received much attention in many years and needed a makeover. Thirteen-year-old Gladstone resident and member of Boy Scout Troop 150, Thomas W. Whittle IV, approached the borough and proposed refurbishing the cabin as his Eagle Scout project.

An Eagle Scout project requires a scout to plan, manage and lead a project that benefits the community. A project typically includes identifying a community need, obtaining permission from the project’s sponsor, planning the project activities, raising funds, buying supplies and materials, recruiting volunteers, scheduling workdays, instructing the volunteers and assigning them tasks, demonstrating the safe use of tools, supplies and materials, answering volunteers’ questions, checking the completed work, and ensuring the project is completed on time and on budget to the satisfaction of the sponsor.

The Borough Council approved the Scout Cabin refurbishment project in October 2023 with the expectation that the cabin would be ready for the borough’s annual holiday event the first week in December.

The ambitious project encompassed work on the exterior and interior of the cabin. The exterior work included: removing chicken wire screens that protected the windows; taking off the broken shutters; cleaning out mud wasp nests from the exterior walls; and sanding, scraping, and repainting the outside of the window sashes and frames. The double set of front doors were also sanded and given a fresh coat of red paint to give the cabin a welcoming look.

Before getting started inside, the Peapack-Gladstone Department of Public Works (DPW) and Recreation Department removed items stored in the cabin. Once completed, the interior work included: removing trash and debris throughout the cabin; sanding, scraping, and repainting the inside of the window sashes and frames; washing the windows; and giving each room and loft a thorough cleaning from top to bottom including the wooden beams, walls and floors. An iron wagon wheel chandelier in the main room was taken down, stripped of its paint, and refurbished with new paint, wiring and lights. A new, secured box was built around the electrical panel. A display case was cleaned and filled with the Troop 57 memorabilia that was found in the cabin, including the troop flag and various awards.

Refurbishing the old building came with challenges too. The main room of the cabin features a large fieldstone fireplace and massive black oak mantel with a large buck mounted above them. Upon initial inspection of the cabin, it was noted that the mantel had pulled off the wall and the inset wooden posts holding it up had rotted, posing a hazard to occupants of the building. The DPW was asked to bring in a carpenter to reset the mantel properly. While the repair was a success, it resulted in a new layer of sawdust throughout the cabin that required a second top-to-bottom cleaning.

Completion

The project was completed with the assistance of 57 volunteers, including 22 adults and 35 youths, that put in approximately 325 manhours. Almost $2,700 was raised from donations for the refurbishment, a sum greater than the original cost of building the cabin. Excess funds were donated to the Peapack-Gladstone Environmental and Shade Commission to assist with plantings added to beautify the landscape around the cabin.

The project garnered a great deal of attention and excitement from visitors to Liberty Park. Each workday, people stopped by to see the cabin, ask questions about its history and the ongoing project, and to share their own stories about being a member of Troop 57 in the cabin.

The project was completed in time for Santa’s annual visit to Peapack Gladstone, hosted by the Peapack-Gladstone Recreation Department on Sunday, December 3, 2023. Santa greeted the children with candy canes and hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace. There was nothing more rewarding than seeing the whole community come together for this special event in a beautiful space. Most of those attending the event had never been inside the cabin. Since then, the cabin has hosted a dog show and other community events.

The project could not have been completed without the support of Councilwoman Jamie Murphy, who served at the project’s sponsor, and the rest of the Peapack-Gladstone Council and Mayor. Brad Fagan and the members of the Peapack-Gladstone Department of Public Works were instrumental in providing logistical assistance throughout the project. Daniel Dolan of the Peapack-Gladstone Recreation Department helped get the word out to the community about the need for additional volunteers.

Thomas W. Whittle IV completed his project in November 2023 and earned the rank of Eagle Scout in June 2024. He is currently a sophomore at the Kent School in Kent, Connecticut. Historic photos courtesy of W. Barry Thomson.

Scout Cabin Before Restoration

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Scout Cabin After Restoration

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