Scouting in Pennsylvania has a long and rich tradition, from 1908[1]: 55  to the present day, serving thousands of youth in programs that suit the environment in which they live.

The information for this paragraph was provided by the Registration Department of the National Office of the BSA, Irving, Texas, in October 2007.

Two years later, Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carrol Edson founded the Order of the Arrow, which inducted its first members on July 16, 1915 at Treasure Island.

In 1915 charters were first granted to the councils headquartered in Erie, Wilkes-Barre, and Oil City.

In 1917 Meadville, State College and Bethlehem were granted charters by the National Office, along with nine other councils.

In the following years, other currently chartered councils were started: Juniata Valley in 1929; Bucktail in 1930; Columbia-Montour and Schuylkill County Area[1]: 56  in 1931; and York-Adams in 1932.

All other current councils in Pennsylvania are the result of mergers which began to occur in the 1960s through the present day.

Pennsylvania is home to the oldest annual Scouting event in the nation, the Valley Forge Pilgrimage and Encampment.

Byrd had held a national contest to invite worthy Eagle Scouts onto the expedition.

The Bucktail Council of the Boy Scouts of America serves Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, Jefferson, and the western portions of Centre County.

The Council adopted its constitution and by-laws on April 28, 1931, thanks to the efforts of John Q. Groves of Dubois.

[6] The Council brought under a unified leadership several independent Boy Scout troops in the surrounding areas of Brockway, Brookville, Clearfield, DuBois, Johnsonburg, Mahaffey, Philipsburg, Reynoldsville, Ridgway, and St. Marys.

[7] When the regiment was first forming, one recruit —many of which were woodsmen and lumbermen— ornamented his hat with a tail from a White-tailed deer he had found in a butcher shop.

[8] District Bucktail Council has a single District, PA Eastern Wilds, which covers the following school districts: Cameron County, St. Mary’s, Bald Eagle, Clearfield, Curwensville, Moshannon Valley, West Branch, Philipsburg-Osceola Area, Johnsonburg, Ridgway, Brockway, DuBois, Brookville, Clarion-Limestone, Punxsutawney.

In 1970, the Stackpole-Hall Foundation provided a large donation for the expansion and renovation of the Camp’s dining hall.

Shortly thereafter, the Council’s Executive Board in January 1938 voted to apply for an Order of the Arrow Lodge Charter.

This effort, led by John H. Keller (Second Council Executive, 1937 - 1942), would form the Lodge’s charter membership from those members of the original Honor Camper Society.

In 1913, the Boy Scouts of America gave a charter to an organization known as the Warren County Council.

During the non-summer season, Camp Lavigne hosts a Klondike Derby, Cub Winter Fun Day, Orienteering Competition, Cub Skill Weekend, and Haunted Harvest Fest.

The French Creek Council serves scouts in six counties in northwestern Pennsylvania and Brookfield Township in Ohio.

The council is divided into three districts, Oliver Perry, Colonel Drake and Chief Kiondashawa, to effectively execute operations across Northwest Pennsylvania.

The Hawk Mountain Council serves Berks, Schuylkill, and Carbon counties in Pennsylvania.

Minsi Trails Council serves Scouts of eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley and Pocono regions as well as parts of western New Jersey.

The council serves six counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe, Carbon, Luzerne, and Warren.

The council serves units in Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Wayne, and Wyoming counties.

Since its founding the council has conducted a biennial Traveling Camporee that takes Scouts to camp at locations that rotate among Williamsburg, Virginia, Baltimore Maryland, Boston, Massachusetts, Niagara Falls, New York, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania was formed on May 1, 2007 through the merger of Hemlock (Harrisburg), Penn Laurel (York), Penn's Woods (Wilkes-Barre), and Scranton-Pocono (Scranton) Girl Scout councils.

Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania serves Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lehigh, Montgomery, Northampton, and Philadelphia counties.

The Museum holds a special exhibit each President's Day weekend during the Cradle of Liberty Council, BSA's Valley Forge Pilgrimage.