Camp Sol R. Crown, located near Wilmot, Wisconsin, has been a place for Scouting adventure and growth since 1959. The camp was generously donated by the Crown family to the North Shore Area Council, BSA (a predecessor to today’s Northeast Illinois Council).
The property—167 acres of rolling land once used as a gravel pit—was owned by the Crowns’ Material Service Corporation. It was named in honor of Solomon Robert Crown, the eldest of the second generation of the immigrant Crown family. Born in Chicago in 1893, Sol Crown was a young entrepreneur who incorporated S.R. Crown and Company at just 22, and later co-founded Material Service Corporation with his brothers Henry and Irving.
Sol’s life was tragically cut short when he passed away from tuberculosis in 1921 at the age of 27, shortly after serving in the Army during World War I.
Even before the formal donation, Scouts were gathering at the Wilmot property as early as 1957 for campouts, Klondike derbies, camporees, and leadership training. Since then, Camp Crown has remained a cornerstone of Scouting in the region—a place where generations of youth have learned skills, built friendships, and discovered the spirit of adventure.