Camp Beechwood Memories
From Time to Thyme
By Paula Dunn
An email from John Wharton sent me down quite a rabbit hole recently. John now lives out of state, but he grew up in central Indiana in the 1960s.
One of his fond childhood memories is of having attended a summer day camp called “Camp Beechwood” for a couple of years. It was located on 116th Street, about a half mile west of Allisonville Road.
He remembered the camp property being fronted by a two-story white frame house which he described as “very similar to large 1920s-‘50s lake cottages, with craftsman hints, such as main pillars at the entrance door facing 116th Street.”
He added that there was a big open room at the back, overlooking the woods leading to the river, and in front of the house was a circle with a flagpole. Each day, camp began with a flag-raising ceremony there.
John has always been curious about who owned that house and the camp. He said that when he ran across the column I wrote on the Neal family recently, he wondered if they might have been the owners.
I was pretty sure the Neals had lived near Heady Hollow (126th Street and Allisonville Road) rather than on 116th Street. I confirmed that, but in the process of double-checking, I discovered that the area John knew as Camp Beechwood has quite a history, going all the way back to this county’s beginnings.
The original owner of that land was Joseph Eller. The Ellers were among Hamilton County’s earliest settlers. The nearby Eller’s Bridge, built in 1869 as one of the county’s few covered bridges, took its name from the Eller family.
In 1897, James Eller created a 23-acre park on the wooded land bordering White River and named it “Ben Hur Park” for some unknown reason. (I couldn’t find any historical connection to Lew Wallace, the author of “Ben Hur.” Maybe Eller just admired him?)
For about 30 years Ben Hur Park was one of the most popular places in the county for picnics, reunions, political rallies and other gatherings.
In 1926, Indianapolis businessman and philanthropist Arthur Baxter bought the park. He offered it to the Y.W.C.A. as a camp for girls, provided they called it “Camp Delight” after his 13 year-old daughter, Delight, who was an active member of the Y.W.C.A. Girl Reserves.
Ten years later, the camp passed into the hands of the Indianapolis Camp Fire Girls, (although it appears from the old newspapers that local Girl Scouts used it as much as the Camp Fire Girls.) The name remained “Camp Delight,” but new cabins were constructed and land was cleared for croquet grounds, tennis courts, an archery range and a bridal path.
Camp Delight became Camp Beechwood in 1960 when it was bought by two Indianapolis realtors, Walter S. Veon and William R. McCord. Unlike Camp Delight, Camp Beechwood was operated as a co-ed camp, with sessions split between two age groups, 5-8 years and 9-12 years.
Camp Beechwood didn’t last long. By 1964 the owners were advertising it for sale or lease. It closed for good in 1965.
The last reference I found to Camp Beechwood was a 1966 article about a new home constructed by Schoen-Morgan Realty on the “former site of Beechwood Day Camp.”
John recalled spending a single overnight at the camp, possibly when it was about to be closed. He said he remembered trekking through a dark field to the Eller House, where they listened to stories around a fireplace. That night they slept in a cabin by the river.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to answer John’s original question about who owned the white house. I don’t know if it had been someone’s residence, or if it was built for the camp.
Does anyone out there know?
Paula Dunn’s From Time to Thyme column appears on Wednesdays in The Times. Contact her at younggardenerfriend@gmail.com
