It's the kind of handsome gift that any Boy Scout group, cramped for outdoor space, might dream about. But the dream has come true.

Finding the George Washington Scout Reservation on a wooded ridge about 12 miles north of Trenton isn't so easy. You drive out River Road, turn north at Valley Road, take a right past the ski course and head for Goat Hill Road, then take a left and start climbing about a mile and a half. You reach the Scout reservation consisting of 219 acres of rolling land. Only 40 acres are cleared for housing and other practical uses with the rest of it ideal woods for campsites. Looking over the site, with a view of the Delaware River bright in the Autumn sunlight, the town of Lambertville on the right, far below, and across the water, New Hope, is something to stir the spirit.

House Commands View
You look around taking in the 15-year old house of native stone with a commanding view from the big windows. There's the leafy green of old trees spreading in all directions and you wonder why this gentleman's estate hadn't been gobbled up as a development, or that it has survived at all.

The council had been confined to a nine-acre tract near Clinton (Camp Buck), in Hunterdon County, but this gift of Colonel and Mrs. Kenneth MacIntosh has offered a new and promising future. It is estimated that fully 65 percent of George Washington Council scouts live within 15 miles of the new reservation.

Facilities Under Development
Sanitation facilities and additional water supply for scout camping are being developed right now so troop camping can be arranged this Fall, according to Leroy V. Brown, scout executive. Immediate projects already underway include a new entrance way marked "George Washington Scout Reservation" and the erection of a 30-foot flag pole on the front lawn adjacent to the native stone house which will be used for meeting and training lectures and administration work.

Giant Step Forward
"It was only natural, said Colonel MacIntosh, "after coming into possession of the land, scene of some of our country's darkest hours, that it became a privilege to turn over the historic site to the custody of so magnificent an organization as the Boy Scouts of America."

Colonel MacIntosh was born in Omaha, Nebraska, but grew up in the East near the Hudson River. he saw combat in both World War I and World war II.

He and Mrs. Macintosh have decided to make annual gifts of sections of the farm until it is owned entirely by the George Washington Council. The first of these gifts was made early in September and consisted of 30 acres. The MacIntoshes have leased the remainder of the property to the council for their unlimited use.

Scouting, through their handsome gift, has taken a giant step forward in this area.