Scouting in
Pennington, NJ

Scouting in Pennington Time Line
A graphical view of Scouting in Pennington.

First Pennington Boy Scout Troop
The first Boy Scout troop in Pennington was active from 1915 to 1918. At about the same time there was also a troop in Hopewell. The newspapers refer to the troops as simply the Hopewell Troop and the Pennington Troop. These troops were charted directly from the Nation Organization in New York City.

Second Pennington Boy Scout Troop
The second Boy Scout troop in Pennington was active from May 18, 1933 to around 1939. There was an active Girl Scout troop also in Pennington at this time. The newspapers mention a Boy Scout Troop No. 26 in Hopewell, but no mention of other troops in the nearby areas.

Troop 41
Chartered originally in 1933, with a name change around 1937, troop registration lapsed briefly in 1939. The troop re-activated December 1, 1944. At various times, the troop has been sponsored by the Pennington School until 1951, the Lions Club, and currently the Pennington YMCA. The troop celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a special Court of Honor in 1994 and a commemorative neckerchief.

Troop 42
Chartered in the Fall of 1965, this troop was active until around 1977. The troop was sponsored by the Pennington Methodist Church.

Troop 44
Chartered in 1963 and always sponsored by the Pennington Presbyterian Church, this is an active group. Troop registration lapsed in 1990 because of a lack of scouts and re-activated in September, 1991.

Pack 10
Active during the 1960s and 1970s and sponsored by the Pennington Jaycees.

Pack 41
First appears around November 1948, sponsored by the Pennington School until 1951. In 1952, the Hopewell Lions Club replaced the Pennington School as sponsor.

Pack 44
Pack 44 started in 1978 and is currently active, with good leaders and an interesting program. Boys in the First Grade are eligible to join the pack as Tiger Cubs.

Newspaper Index
A listing of references in the local newspapers to Pennington Boy Scouting units.

ask jos:
Research for this project uses information from personal experience, contact with former members and leaders of local scouting units, and the local newspapers. Since my involvement began in the late 1970s, I have tended to focus on what happened before that time and leave it to future historians to someday complete the record.

Thanks to the efforts of Jack Koppel, and the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, microfilm records of local newspapers are available at the local Mercer County Library. Much of the information is taken from the Hopewell Herald in the early 1900s, and from the later Hopewell Valley News and the Pennington Post. I was surprised by how little information about Boy Scouting was available in the local newspapers. The Girl Scouts appear to be much more effective at getting space in the local newspapers.

Copies of the Hopewell Valley News are available at the Mercer County Library. The papers are rather old and very musty. I spent a good part of several afternoons sneezing and wheezing while I reviewed the papers. Unfortunately, there is a break in coverage from 1954 to 1976

September 2, 1999