For more than a century, young people in Chehalis have gathered through Scouting to explore the outdoors, serve their community, develop leadership skills, and build friendships.

The names, numbers, and programs have changed over the generations, but Scouting has remained part of the Chehalis community — and much of that history has centered around the historic Chehalis Scout Lodge.

Early 1920s — At least three Scout troops are active in Chehalis
1930s — Five local Scout troops need a permanent meeting place
1937 — Construction begins on the Chehalis Scout Lodge
1938 — The Lodge opens and is formally dedicated
1941 — Chehalis Scouts climb Mount Rainier
1968 — Troop 373 is chartered
1971 — Troop 373 records its first Eagle Scout
1980s — Chehalis Scouts make adventures — and headlines — around the world
2000 — Eagle Scout projects help restore the historic Lodge
2004 — Scout Lodge added to the National Register of Historic Places
2015 — Ten Troop 373 Scouts earn Eagle in a record year
2018 — Troop 373 celebrates its 50th anniversary
2019 — Girls join Scouts BSA in Chehalis
2020–21 — Chehalis celebrates its first female Eagle Scouts
2025 — Scouting America approves the Family Troop model
2026 — Troop 9373 enters a new co-ed era
Today — Another generation writes the next chapter

The Chehalis Scouting story isn't simply the history of one pack, one troop, or one building.

It is the story of generations of local families and volunteers who believed young people should have opportunities to explore, lead, serve, learn, and belong.

From early Scouts gathering wherever they could find a meeting room, to five troops inspiring the construction of their own Lodge, to Mount Rainier adventures, generations of Eagle Scouts, and today's co-ed programs, Scouting has continually adapted while maintaining a remarkable presence in Chehalis.

Scouting was already well established in Chehalis by the early 1920s.

Newspaper coverage from 1921 documents at least three active Boy Scout troops in Chehalis, along with a local Scout council. References to the reorganization of Scouting that year indicate that local Scout activity began even earlier.

Throughout the 1920s, Chehalis Scouts participated in community ceremonies, hikes, outdoor activities, advancement programs, and organized summer camping.

By 1928, Chehalis Scouts were attending Camp Cleland in organized groups during the summer.

Camping, hiking, outdoor skills, and exploration were already becoming traditions that generations of Chehalis Scouts would continue.

Scouting grew significantly in Chehalis during the early decades of the movement.

By the 1930s, historical research conducted for the Chehalis Scout Lodge documented five Scout troops operating in the community.

There was just one problem: They didn't have a permanent home.

Local troops gathered wherever suitable space could be found, including Chehalis City Hall, the First Methodist Church basement, the St. Helens Hotel, and even the Centralia High School auditorium.

Chehalis had developed a thriving Scouting community — and that community needed a place of its own.

During the Great Depression, Chehalis undertook a series of public improvements with assistance from the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).

Among the projects planned for Dobson Park was a recreation building intended for the city's Scouts and community.

Construction began on what would become the Chehalis Scout Lodge.

The new Scout Lodge opened for use in the spring of 1938.

The rustic building featured a large central fireplace and gathering space designed to provide local Scouts with the permanent home they had previously lacked.

Girl Scouts were among the groups using the building during its first months of operation.

Chehalis formally dedicated its new Scout building on October 4, 1938.

Washington Supreme Court Justice George B. Simpson delivered the keynote address, and representatives of the City of Chehalis, local Scouting community, park board, and American Legion participated.

The building would become an enduring center of Scouting in Chehalis.

Among Chehalis' early Scout units was Troop 20, which developed a remarkable outdoor and mountaineering tradition.

An account later published by the American Alpine Club describes Chehalis Scouts undertaking serious Northwest mountain adventures, including an ascent of Mount Rainier in 1941.

Long before modern high-adventure programs, Chehalis Scouts were exploring some of the Pacific Northwest's most challenging landscapes.

The Scout Lodge quickly became more than simply a meeting hall.

Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and Brownies used the building for meetings, advancement activities, celebrations, and day camps.

Historical records document Troops 20 and 21 operating in Chehalis during this era.

The Lodge occasionally served the wider community as well. Following the 1949 Olympia earthquake, Chehalis students temporarily attended classes there after their school was damaged.

Through all of those changing uses, the building remained closely connected with Scouting.

A major new chapter began in 1968, when Troop 373 was chartered in Chehalis with the support of a local Rotary organization.

Troop 373 would become one of the longest-running and most recognizable Scout units in the community.

Its first documented Eagle Scout followed just a few years later, in 1971.

Troop 373 continued Chehalis' longstanding tradition of outdoor adventure, advancement, and community service.

Other Scout units also operated in Chehalis during this era, including Troop 321.

Chehalis Scouts traveled throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond, sometimes becoming part of remarkable stories.

While hiking near La Push on the Washington coast, a group of Chehalis Scouts discovered unusual Soviet equipment.

The discovery — described in contemporary news reports as a Soviet spy or intelligence-gathering buoy — attracted national wire-service attention during the Cold War.

It became one of the more unusual adventures in Chehalis Scouting history.

Chehalis Scouts traveled internationally in connection with the World Scout Jamboree in Australia.

On December 24, 1987, Scouts and leaders from Chehalis Troop 321 were involved in a serious vehicle collision in the Snowy Mountains north of Canberra.

Nine Scouts were injured.

Seventeen-year-old Chehalis Scout Jeffrey Carrington later died from his injuries.

His story remains part of the history of the generations of Chehalis Scouts who traveled throughout the country and around the world through Scouting.

By the end of the 20th century, the aging Scout Lodge needed significant attention.

Chehalis Scouts stepped forward.

Two Scouts incorporated improvements to the Lodge into their Eagle Scout service work, with volunteers contributing a combined 264 hours toward painting and improving the historic building and its sign. 

It continued a tradition that remains important today: Scouts taking responsibility for the Lodge generations of Scouts have inherited.

The Chehalis Scout Lodge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

The designation recognized the Lodge's significance as a Depression-era public works project and an example of the rustic architectural style associated with parks and public recreation buildings of the era.

The designation also helped preserve a building already deeply connected to generations of Chehalis Scouts.

By the 2010s, Troop 373 had developed an extraordinary record of Eagle Scout achievement.

Local news coverage highlighted not only the troop's outdoor program, but also generations of Eagle Scout projects benefiting parks, nonprofit organizations, trails, public spaces, and other community institutions.

Ten members of Troop 373 earned the rank of Eagle Scout during 2015, setting an all-time troop record.

By then, the troop had been producing Eagle Scouts for more than four decades.

Scouts, former Scouts, leaders, families, and community members gathered at the Chehalis Scout Lodge to celebrate 50 years of Troop 373.

By its 50th anniversary, approximately 125 members of the troop had earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

When Scouts BSA opened its program to girls in 2019, Chehalis was among the communities that quickly embraced the opportunity.

An all-girls Scouts BSA troop was established at the Chehalis Scout Lodge alongside the longstanding Troop 373.

Historical records identify the new unit initially as Troop 7373.

The development added another chapter to a Lodge that had actually welcomed girls through Girl Scouts and Brownies generations earlier.

Chehalis celebrated another exceptional group of Scouts when 12 local Scouts were recognized for earning the rank of Eagle Scout.

The achievement further demonstrated the remarkable Eagle Scout tradition that had developed around Chehalis Scouting.

Chehalis Scouts Allison Hilliker and Brianna Powe became part of the historic inaugural generation of young women to earn the rank of Eagle Scout through Scouts BSA.

By this period, contemporary records identify the Chehalis girls' unit as Troop 9373.

Their accomplishments extended Chehalis' decades-long Eagle Scout tradition to a new generation of young women.

Chehalis Scouting continued to evolve.

Cub Scout Pack 9301 provides the Cub Scout program for younger Scouts, while the Scouts BSA program continued through the longstanding Troop 373 tradition and Troop 9373.

Throughout the decade, local Scouts continued camping, hiking, learning outdoor skills, participating in civic ceremonies, assisting community organizations, completing Eagle Scout projects, and caring for their historic Lodge.

Scouting America conducted a national pilot program allowing boys and girls to participate together in a single Scouts BSA troop.

Previously, boys' and girls' troops could operate as closely connected or "linked" troops, but remained separate registered units.

The pilot represented another significant evolution of the Scouts BSA program.

Following the national pilot program, Scouting America's National Executive Board approved the Family Troop model in October 2025.

For the first time, chartered organizations could choose among boys' troops, girls' troops, or Family Troops serving both male and female Scouts together in one troop.

The change opened the door for another evolution of Chehalis' Scouting program.

Today, Chehalis' Scouts BSA program operates as Troop 9373, bringing boys and girls together in the modern Scouting program while carrying forward the traditions built by generations of Chehalis Scouts.

The unit's story connects directly with the legacy of longtime Troop 373, chartered in 1968, as well as the girls' troop established in 2019.

The number and structure have evolved.

The mission continues.

More than a century after the first documented Scout troops were active in Chehalis, young people are still gathering through Scouting.

Cub Scout Pack 9301 and Scouts BSA Troop 9373 continue the tradition through outdoor adventure, advancement, leadership, service, citizenship, and community involvement.

And they continue to gather at the historic Chehalis Scout Lodge at 278 SE Adams Avenue — a building constructed in 1938 because Chehalis already had so many Scouts that its troops needed a permanent home.

Generations have passed through its doors.

Troop numbers have changed.

Programs have evolved.

But Scouting remains part of Chehalis.

More than 100 years of Scouting. One historic Lodge. And the story is still being written.

This timeline is an ongoing historical research project. It is based on contemporary newspaper accounts, historical Scouting records, National Register of Historic Places documentation, City of Chehalis records, and other archival materials. We welcome additional photographs, documents, stories, and corrections that can help preserve the history of Scouting in Chehalis.