The History
of
Camp Woolsey
1937 - 2020
The Project
Camp Woolsey, the Girl Guide camp near Ottawa, welcomed campers for over 80 years. The History of Camp Woolsey was a project started by Emma Kent and myself to share the fascinating story of the camp. The project had humble beginnings, but has since spanned into a facebook page, two museum exhibits, and a book.
We met at Woolsey in 2007 as leaders in training, and worked together at Woolsey over the next eight years. Our story is not unique - countless women and girls have called Woolsey home since 1937. Their passion could be seen in the property—in the dedication plaques, in the buildings built by fundraising, in the summer camp staff, in the guiders and girls who used and loved the property.
The story of Camp Woolsey is not just the story of a piece of land. We have loved sharing Woolsey's story with the Guiding and Ottawa communities.
Above left - the front gate in 1947
Above right - the front gate in 2020
Below - Lloyd Dining Lodge, the first building constructed for camp, 1948
Below - Pinhey Cottage, the oldest building at camp, built in 1824. Originally used by camp as an infirmary. Pictured in 2017
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The Community
The History of Camp Woolsey facebook page was created in 2017 shortly after the announcement that the Ontario Girl Guides were planning to sell all of their camp properties. The goal was to create a "digital museum", and share the information, photos and stories we had discovered.
The response to the page has been incredible, and the community has been invaluable. Thanks to the page, we have made contact with members of the Woolsey family, as well as many women who have moved from Ottawa or are no longer involved in Guiding. We have been sent pictures and stories, and we have been able to ask questions to clarify our own findings. We can't thank the community enough, and will always welcome more photos and personal stories!
The Exhibits
In 2018, Emma started to pursue the idea of creating a History of Camp Woolsey travelling exhibit. The first exhibit was held at the Bytown Museum in the spring of 2019. Later a second running of the exhibit (altered slightly) was held at Pinhey's Point Historic Site.
The exhibit showcased some of the artifacts and photos we have collected, as well a rough draft of the book.
The Book
The Story of Camp Woolsey book took much longer than we expected. Using Emma's notes, I started putting the book together in 2017. What followed was a slow process of trying to organize the written portions with images. It seemed like every time it got close to being completed, someone would send us more pictures or tell us a new story, and things had to be added.
In the summer of 2025, I remade the entire thing using Canva. Finally, all the formatting looked good! The book was published in August, 2026.
Available for Purchase
The Collection
Although I wanted to include everything possible in the book, there are plenty of images that couldn't be included. Rather than keep these to ourselves, Emma and I decided to create a digital collection. We hope this collection will continue to grow as people share the pictures and stories that made Woolsey so important to so many of us!
We have done our best to credit and label our collection accurately. If you see anything that needs to be edited, please reach out!
The mailbox built and painted by my parents in 2014!
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