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1921

Jackson's Mill becomes the location for the first state 4-H camp in the country.

Following the success of the first 4-H camp held in Randolph County in 1915, and the growing popularity of camp as a vital part of the development of the 4-H program, a plan to secure a site for a state 4-H camp developed in 1919 and 1920. In June 1921, a group of young men and women (volunteer leaders) gathered with state leaders for the first State 4-H camp in the nation. Throughout that year development of plans to secure the lands near the old Jackson Mill building materialized. The West Virginia State Legislature officially passed acts to transfer the ownership of the property to the State Board of Control, which included: the President of West Virginia University, the Director of Athletics, the Director of WVU Extension, the State 4-H Club Leader, along with representatives from the West Penn Power Company, the Hope Natural Gas Company, the Lewis County Farm Bureau, the Weston Chamber of Commerce, and others. The Farm Bureau and Chamber of Commerce agreed to add nearly 30 additional acres. This was beyond the five original acres (roughly our modern-day Historic Area), and with that the Jackson’s Mill State 4-H Camp began.