The Story of Castle Rock Camp

THE STORY OF CASTLE ROCK BAPTIST CAMP

Compiled by Verna and Bob Allen

As a boy growing up in Montana it was my privilege each summer to spend weeks on the banks of the Gallatin River at Castle Rock Baptist Camp.  My mother, Verna Allen, and I compiled a book of memories which was made available to campers for a couple of years.  Over the next few days I am going to share the story of Castle Rock with you, minus the pictures.  I trust it will be a blessing as you rejoice in the work God has done over the years.

How Great Thou Art

The story of

Castle Rock Baptist Camp

Compiled by

Verna and Bob Allen

Credits

  Some of the material for this book was copied from “25 Years under the Big Sky,” by Arthur W. Allen, published in 1985.  Additional memories and materials have been contributed by Art and Virginia Coats, Harold and Edith Davidson, Evelyn and Richard Engstrom,  Bob Grotzke, Jerry and Roxy Lawver,  Grant Lawver, Paul and Deanna Leslie, Vicki Mansell,  Joyce Nichols, Anita Pearson, Lilas and Jack Phillips, Andrew Pust, Elise Allen, Dave Grotzke, Mark and Heidi Roedel,  Sheldon Schearer, Paul Talmadge, and Brian and Wendy Wells.

CASTLE ROCK HYMN

By Marie Vannice Jager

Sung to the tune of

“How Firm A Foundation

At Castle Rock Camp on the West Gallatin

I learned I was lost and dead in sin.

I opened my heart and the Savior came in

At Castle Rock Camp on the West Gallatin.

At Castle Rock Camp on the West Gallatin

I heard that my Savior died for all men.

I offered my life as a sacrifice then

At Castle Rock Camp on the West Gallatin.

At Castle Rock Camp on the West Gallatin

He said, “Follow me, be a fisher of men.”

I said, “Yes, Lord.  I’ll do all that I can.”

As Castle Rock Camp on the West Gallatin.

 

Chapter One:  The Early Days

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork.” (Psalm 19:1).

  Sitting on the slope of Storm Castle overlooking Castle Rock Baptist Camp, a group of high school kids sang the familiar words to the great hymn by Stuart Hine, “How Great Thou Art.”

  “When through the woods and forest glades I wander,

  And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.

  When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,

  And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

  Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;

  How great Thou art. How great Thou art.”

  The view before them perfectly illustrated the words of the song.  Above them rose the craggy summit of Castle Rock.  Below them Squaw Creek plunged down from Garnet Peak to merge noisily with the Gallatin River.  And within them the glory of God found expression in the worship of their hearts.  They were campers—Castle Rock campers, and their midnight hike up to the first turn in the trail that led toward the crowning peak of the mountain was the beginning of a week long experience in finding God on the Gallatin.

But those teens, back in 1960, were not the first to camp at the confluence of the Gallatin and Squaw Creek.  Native American artifacts reveal a long history of occupation by those who came to appreciate the beauty of the piece of property now known as Castle Rock Camp.  Arrowheads, knives and scrapers still appear in the soil as it loosens up after the winter freeze and then is pounded bare by the gathering of excited feet.  The evidence of the years shows that this was a special meeting place for early tribes as they came to divide up their hunting and fishing rights for that year.  The convergence of trails at that particular site also indicated “social activities such as religious exercises, trade, meeting old friends and relatives, younger people courting and sometimes for migrations,” (Archaeology in Montana, Special Issue # 2, 1981).

  The trails were also followed by many species of wild game.  Deer visit the campsite regularly.  Moose have been spotted along the road leading into the camp and elk roam the high mountain valleys of Garnet Peak.  Cougar and bear are also occasional visitors to the area.

Access to the Gallatin Valley improved in 1898 with the first wagon road, built by James M. Moore.  He and his nephew blazed a trail from Taylor’s Fork to West Yellowstone, erecting 53 bridges along the way.  In 1932, crews surfaced the highway between Bozeman and West Yellowstone providing a way into Yellowstone Park from the north through some of the finest scenery in all of Montana. 

  Development of the property east of the river began with the CCC or Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934.   They undertook the difficult task of building the  two mile road from Squaw Creek ranger station to the present location of the Gallatin River bridge and completed it in ten days.  That is the road now followed by all those who come to Castle Rock Camp.

 

Then they constructed a complete set of new ranger station buildings at the present station site and began work on the concrete reinforced bridge spanning the river. 

  In 2001, the Squaw Creek Ranger Station was renamed the C.C.C. Camp in honor of those workers who built the cabins there during the Great Depression.  A sign erected by the Gallatin County Historical Society records the history of the location.  “A large C.C.C. Camp was here from 1933 to 1942.  This program helped in the recovery from the 1930’s depression, enrolling many young men at $30.00 per month ($25.00 to be sent home).  It was known as President Roosevelt’s “Tree Army.”  These labor battalions improved federal and state lands.  They built fences, roads and bridges (including this bridge), and built and blazed trails, telephone lines and fire lookouts.  They also helped in blizzards, fire and flood emergencies.  By 1935, 300,000 men were located in 2600 CCC Camps in the United States.  The camps were closed at the beginning of World War II.  CCC Boys (they were called boys as most were high school age) improved access to the Lewis and Clark Caverns in Jefferson Canyon near Whitehall, and that later became a state park.  While at the camps, the boys could continue their education.”

  The Green Guidon, a CCC Annual from Fort Missoula, Montana, related an encounter with the native wildlife in 1939.  “The detached crew doing location work at the end of the Squaw Creek road has met with two hindrances to their work.  The first, and smaller bear, seemed content with the garbage pit, the best was none to good for the grandfather of all bears, (so the crew describes him), when he arrived several days later.  One morning the enrollees awoke to find a ham and a bacon gone.  The next morning 25 pounds of flour were scattered all over the cook tent, and the bear tracks could be found anywhere in camp.  For the next couple of nights the crew chased bears away. One story goes that the road locator, clad only in a pair of brilliant colored pajamas, got to be quite an expert in running over the moonlit mountains. 

Finally the smaller bear got caught in the fork of a tree where he stayed until someone jarred him loose with a shotgun.  The larger bear hasn’t been seen since, but the smaller showed up down at the main camp in the form of very tasty steaks.”

Castle Rock  Baptist Camp is located on the Gallatin River, twenty-five miles south of Bozeman, Montana.  The Gallatin is one of three rivers which unite in Three Forks, Montana, to form the mighty Missouri.  The other two are the Jefferson and the Madison.  Squaw Creek enters the Gallatin at the foot of Storm Castle Mountain forming the meadow on which the camp is situated.