Pine Island Camp Records

Pine Island Camp traces its history to 1892 when the three-acre island on which it stands was purchased by Florence Colby. In 1902 her son Clarence Colby founded Pine Island Camp. In 1908 the camp was purchased by Dr. Eugene L. Swan and his friend Raymond Kaign. Dr. Swan was born in 1876 in Franklin, Maine, had a medical practice in Brooklyn, New York, and had been serving as a camp doctor at one of the first summer camps in New York State. In 1921 Dr. Swan became the sole owner of the camp. His enthusiasm, charisma, and love of the outdoor life led to its immediate success. It attracted campers primarily from New England and New York but also enrolled boys from across the country. The number of campers increased and the camp succeeded financially until the Great Depression and World War II. By the end of the war, the number of campers had diminished significantly. At this point, Dr. Swan's oldest son, Eugene L. Swan, Jr., known as Jun, became the director. Jun was born in 1909 and had been serving as Assistant Headmaster of the Collegiate School in New York City. In 1946 he and his two brothers purchased the camp from their father and increased the enrollment. In 1969 the camp instituted a formal Board of Directors to insure its continuity. Until a fire in 1995 destroyed many of its buildings, the camp in many ways had remained as it was at its founding: remote, without electricity, continuing the rituals and ceremonies established by Dr. Swan. After the fire, with donations from former campers, the camp was able to re-build and modernize, installing electricity and conforming to modern health codes. Pine Island Camp celebrated its centennial in 2002.