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Aspen Grove Family Camp (Aspen Grove, Utah)

 Organization

Dates

  • Existence: 1963-

Biographical History

Aspen Grove Family Camp (est. 1963) is an camping and conference center in Aspen Grove, Utah.

Aspen Grove initially connected to Brigham Young University for educational purposes and is now a large camping destination for families.

Aspen Grove first became linked with Brigham Young University when the late Eugene L. Roberts used the area as the starting point of the annual Timp hike in 1911. About 10 years later, the Stewart family donated approximately 35 acres of this land to BYU. In 1922 Brigham Young University scheduled the Alpine Summer School at Aspen Grove. The staff and students lived in tents and studied botany, zoology and geology. In 1923 a kitchen, dining hall, and three dormitories were erected. Later, during World War II, summer school was abandoned at Aspen Grove for various war-related reasons. Raymond Beckham, director of the Alumni Association, became interested in using the area as a family camp for BYU in 1956. At a board meeting on October 10, 1962, the project was approved. More than 111 alumni were approached and each signed a personal note for $1,000 to finance construction. Construction began in the fall of 1962. The swimming pool was excavated, the softball field leveled, sewer lines started, cabin sites selected, and camp roads established. The camp opened for business July 13, 1963. The average number of families during the first years of the camp was eight each week. The camp's popular dinner bell came from a 3500 series coal-fired steam engine donated by the Union Pacific Railroad. Aspen Grove has grown to an average occupancy of 80 families per week. The camp personnel serve as hosts to thousands of guests each year.

Citation:
Aspen Grove Family Camp and Conference Center website, via WWW, Nov. 10, 2014 (Aspen Grove Family Camp; Aspen Grove; owned and operated by the Brigham Young University Alumni Association)

BYU Magazine, Summer 2013 (est. July 13, 1963; directors: Mark E. Longhurst, Glen C. Parker, Welburn J. Van Orman, Douglas A. Doxey, and Ken J. Taylor)

Deseret news, July 26, 2007 (est. Aspen Grove Family Camp in 1963 while serving as BYU alumni director)

Found in 1 Collection or Record:

Aspen Grove Family Camp records

 Collection — Box 1: [Barcode: 31197233646931]
Identifier: UA 5567
Scope and Contents

Contains CD-ROMs, theses, articles, brochures, and other materials associated with Aspen Grove Family Camp. Also includes information on the history of the Aspen Grove area. Materials date from between 1963 and 2011.

Dates: 1963-2011