Horseshoe has been the conrnerstone of Chester County  Council's camping program since the late '20s..

Chester County Council troops have been using Horseshoe Scout Reservation since 1928, the year in which a remarkable tract of land with farm buildings was purchased from the Reynolds family. Located at the southwestern corner of Chester County and the northern edge of Cecil County, MD, Horseshoe is named for the great horseshoe bend in the Octoraro Creek.

"Octoraro", in the original Lenni Lenape Indian language, means "muddy river." Now, as then, deer are plentiful. A wild turkey strutting along a campsite edge is a common occurrence. The "honking" of Canadian geese, coincidentally the totem of the Octoraro Lodge WWW, is heard early in the cool of the morning. Turtles bask in the sun along the edges of the wide creek. Great horned owls hoot in the dark of the night. Red tail hawks wheel and soar above Horseshoe's stately pines. The natural serenity of Horseshoe beckons still just as it has for generations of Lenni Lenape Indians who regulary camped along the Octoraro's banks.

Generation of Scouts, too, have responded to Horseshoe's call as have Scouting's many friends. To complement the original buildings, now known as the "White House", and the "Kindness Center", new construction was initiated in time to ready the Allen Memorial Dining Hall and several campsites for the 1928 season.

In 1930, the largest Scout camp swimming pool of its kind anywhere in the world was built at Horseshoe. Capital funding and generous donations have fueled Horseshoe's growth ever since. New headquarters buildings, winter lodges, kitchen modernizations, new campsites, flood-free roads, and a new dining hall at Ware are among the many improvements made possible by generous friends of Chester County Scouting.

A history of Horseshoe Scout Reservation, and Chester County Council, is available in the Spirit of the Horseshoe book by J.B. Rettew. The complete text of this excellent publication is available online.