Camp Dill is named after Tracey Spencer Dill, the first scoutmaster of South Amboy, NJ Boy Scout Troop 91. In the 1920’s, the leaders of Troop 91 initially leased and subsequently purchased property along the South Branch of the Raritan River between the boundaries of High Bridge and Clinton Township which is today known as Camp Dill. Interestingly, original access to the camp for both equipment and campers required crossing the Raritan River by boat and climbing the hill to the camp, as the property was basically “land-locked”.  Eventually, a right-of-way was received from an adjacent property owner to cross his land for access.  In the 1930’s in order to keep the campsite as a private entity, despite its close affiliation with Troop 91, the Camp Dill Foundation was established and today is recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. During the first sixty years of its existence, Camp Dill could readily be considered a low-impact camp site. Major modifications to the property were the building of a stone cabin by leaders and scouts in the 1930’s and 1940’s, plus a low-impact outhouse. In the early 1960’s grading of the hill was performed near the cabin in order to have a more suitable camping area. Two surface water spring houses were built in the 1950’s and 1970’s for water and refrigeration. All of these projects were low capital cost involving volunteerism (human capital) more than dollar capital.

 

What can be considered Camp Dill’s first major capital cost project occurred in the mid 1980’s when electricity was brought to the campground. This was done as a health safety issue in order to purify the surface spring water. In 1990, a second major capital cost project occurred with the installation of a water supply well near the cabin. In the mid-1990’s a third major project involved the acquisition of additional property in Clinton Township that extended land access to Cokesbury Road ending the camp’s long-time dependency on an adjacent property owner to gain access. This land addition was a state of New Jersey Green Acres project that led to deed restrictions on both the existing and new property that now form the camp. Again, all of these capital cost projects were highly dependent on the human capital of volunteerism from members of the Camp Dill Foundation and Troop 91.  Grants for the Green Acres project, and generous corporate donations; notably the well installation project which would not have been achieved if not for materials and services donated by the Empire Soil Investigations and the Morris Pump companies.