The Charleston area's new $3.7 million, 13,000-square-foot Buckskin Council Boy Scout leadership center will be named in honor of a philanthropist recognized as "West Virginia's first Boy Scout."
The H. Bernard Wehrle Sr. Scout Leadership Service Center will include museum displays, conference rooms, a scout shop and other amenities to make it capable of hosting large meetings, volunteer training sessions, program coordination and overnight camping excursions. Buckskin Council's existing Wyatt Scout Service, built in 1979 and located next to Daniel Boone Park on Kanawha Boulevard East, will be refurbished and incorporated in the new building. The new building will be nearly three times the size of the current building.
"The Wyatt Service Center has served scouting in Buckskin Council well, but since it was built, we've gone through three mergers and have grown in size," said Jeff Purdy, scout executive for the Buckskin Council, which includes 22 counties in West Virginia, four in Kentucky and three counties in both Virginia and Ohio.
In addition to serving the needs of Scouts and volunteers in the Buckskin Council service area, the Wehrle Scout Leadership Service Center will host Scouts traveling through the region, including those destined for jamborees and other events at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve in Fayette and Raleigh counties. An activity wing includes a food preparation area and sleeping bag space for 40, ideal for use by traveling Scouts.
"It will have a key-coded door, allowing Scouts from outside the area to enter that building for a weekend," Purdy said at a Tuesday groundbreaking for the center. Outside, along the Kanawha River shore, a campfire ring and theater seating will be built, and Scouts will have the option of camping outdoors in an adjacent space.
Purdy said plans are underway to establish tours and historic programs at the neighboring Craik-Patton House, and to develop STEM learning programs at the Clay Center.
The Martha Gaines and Russell Wehrle Memorial Foundation and the H.B. Wehrle Foundation have contributed $1.5 million for the center. Another $1.7 million has been raised privately, with the remaining $500,000 to be raised through a public campaign to be launched later this month.
The gifts make Buckskin Council "worthy of the distinction of being the home council to the Summit," Purdy said.
The new service center's name recognizes the gift from a Charleston family with historic ties to the Boy Scouts. H. Bernard Wehrle received a plaque in the mid-20th century recognizing him as "West Virginia's first Boy Scout" on May 10, 1911.
"The Boy Scouts of America, and specifically the Buckskin Council, have a long tradition of developing leaders serving across this nation and abroad," Steve Wehrle, H. Bernard Wehrle Sr.'s grandson, said during Tuesday's event. "We are extremely honored to be able to play a part in maintaining that tradition for decades to come. This groundbreaking, today, will provide a solid foundation for a better tomorrow."
The construction team for the project includes David Pray, acting as the owner's representative, Mark Grigsby of Pray Construction and architect Aric Margolis. Work is expected to be complete by next May.
Reach Rick Steelhammer at rsteelhammer@wvgazette.com, 304-348-5169, or follow @rsteelhammer on Twitter.