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| The only structure I could find so far. |
A few years back, my sister, brother-in-law, two nephews and
I decided to make a pre-Halloween adventure out of visiting all of the local
haunted spots. I made a hauntings map on a piece of poster board with the boys
and we headed out. On that map was a place their dad mentioned–a boy's camp.
Locals would have you think it was some kind of bad kids camp, but as far as I
can tell, Camp Ousamequin was a Y.M.C.A summer camp dating back to at least the 20s. In other words, a place where any boy could go to find "many ways to
have a good time." Check out
this article on it dated April, 1925.
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You see the blue dot in the middle of the woods?
That's us. Keep going. |
Way back at the end of Lingan St. in Halifax, there is a
ball field. Behind that field is a concrete structure that was part of the camp
to the best of my knowledge. It's a creepy place with lots of graffiti. When we visited, the doors were open and there had been a fire, as
evidenced by a huge pile of burnt debris in front of the place. We went inside
(it was wide open with no signs barring entry) and found several small rooms
and one big room–all concrete. This is definitely suggestive of a camp, but I
could easily see why someone would think it was a small detention center. Interestingly, though, I can't find any historical photos of concrete buildings. I see a lot of
this.
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| The woods are starting to take it back. |
A few days ago, my husband and I went back with the same two
nephews to kill some time. This visit wasn't as successful. While there are
still no signs, the doors were locked up tight. I managed to get the few
pictures you see here, but the light was terrible for getting photos through
the windows. If I ever manage to get in lawfully again, I will certainly update
this post.
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| Zombie movie, anyone? |
I'm skeptical of any kind of haunting, and I don't know any
stories about this place beyond some local kids saying it's haunted in general.
However, I will say it's an eerie place. The rundown building in the middle of
a forest backed by a huge lake right next to a ball field kind of gives it a
scary movie feel, which I can appreciate.
This handout is definitely suggestive of some old-school Friday the 13th-style wholesomeness.
I suggest a stroll in the
woods at Camp Ousamequin, but remember a locked door is as good as a No Trespassing sign. Respect
the town and check the place out from the outside. If you are sure of the origin of this building, please let us know in the comments section. We're also happy to hear your ghost stories if you've got them.
I was in there last night pretty creepy
ReplyDeleteI was there in the late 40's. Great Camp, fond memories, albeit somewhat foggy.
ReplyDeleteI was there for three summers, starting in, I believe, 1948. The first year my cabin counselor was Bill Nelson, a student at BU. It was a great camp, and I have some nice memories. The camp director was Mr. Shumway. The counselors referred to him as "old Gumshoes," probably because he observed their performance surreptitiously. Once a week we would take a bath in the lake, which would be a no-no today due to polluting the water. Back then we didn't know any better. My third and final summer my counselor was Biff Galbraith, who was in the Marine Corps Reserve and also the archery instructor. One day out cabin was having a minor "war" with a neighboring cabin, and we took some of Biff's bows & arrows and shot them at the other kids. Of course, even at our age, we had enough sense to aim low so we didn't hit anyone. Buff was very upset and gave us a very stern lecture!!
DeleteI spent summers there in the 1960's
ReplyDeleteI was a counselor and swimming instructor there for 2 or 3seasons. 1961, 62, 63 It was a great YMCA Camp.
ReplyDeleteMichael S
I washed dishes there with 2 of my friend from Winchester the summer of 68 I think. There is an irony there in that we were "rich" kids and these campers were mostly inner city kids from Roxbury and Dorchester. they refered to us as kitchen boys which we were
ReplyDeletewow. thats awesome. how was it when you were there? other then being called kitchen boys
DeleteThanks for the memories. I was a counselor at Osamaquin in the early sixties.
ReplyDeleteDocuments can still can be found on the web about our youth detention camp. It had two names, State Documents referred to it as Camp Halifax, it was mostly known as the YMCA Detention Camp. It was not a camp but a residential program for boys ordered there by the courts. According to documents it served the care of those delinquent and school phobic, for pre detained and awaiting trial. One of our Selectman ran the program in the 70’s, early 80’s and lived with his family on the property. It was very primitive living. https://vimeo.com/98341397?ref=fb-share&fbclid=IwAR1UiaVRqGbAsGAISYcaiCEkVsuequQgc6Lz8NuJ98K4qeLU6I3IcfdaBOM
ReplyDeleteDocuments can still can be found on the web about our youth detention camp. It had two names, State Documents referred to it as Camp Halifax, it was mostly known as the YMCA Detention Camp. It was not a camp but a residential program for boys ordered there by the courts. According to documents it served the care of those delinquent and school phobic, for pre detained and awaiting trial. One of our Selectman ran the program in the 70’s, early 80’s and lived with his family on the property. It was very primitive living. https://vimeo.com/98341397?ref=fb-share&fbclid=IwAR1UiaVRqGbAsGAISYcaiCEkVsuequQgc6Lz8NuJ98K4qeLU6I3IcfdaBOM
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that Camp Ousamequin ended up as a center for kids with problems. When the Huntington Ave YMCA ran it, it was a wonderful place. Once each summer we would have a big outing to the beach in Duxbury. Please see my earlier entry, above. One of these days I'm going to drive down and check it out.
ReplyDeleteWent in ‘69. Remember watching the moon landing in the mess Hall...
ReplyDeleteI was a camper there the summers of 61, 62, & 63. What a great experience. I have fond memories of the time I spent there.
ReplyDeletei was a counselor and swimming instructor in those years
ReplyDeleteI remember a Mike S from my summers there. Back then I think you had a crew cut. I loved that place.
ReplyDelete