For Immediate Release
May 7, 2018
Alabama Historical Commission, Marketing & Public Relations Manager: Jacqulyn Kirkland, 334-230-2690 or jacqulyn.kirkland@ahc.alabama.gov
CAMP FLETCHER ADDED TO ALABAMA REGISTER OF LANDMARKS & HERITAGE
Located in McCalla in Jefferson County, Alabama, Camp Fletcher was listed to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage for its association with ethnic heritage and architecture.
Established in 1926, Camp Fletcher offered an outdoor haven for African-American children when no other camp was available to them. The site contains nine contributing buildings that date from 1926-1954.
Pauline Bray Fletcher, the camp’s founder, was the first African-American registered nurse in Alabama. Fletcher came to Birmingham in 1906 to work at the Children's Home for Negroes Hospital. In 1909 she was employed by United Charities of Birmingham. In 1915 she worked as a field nurse for the American Cast Iron Pipe Company and in 1920 she began working for the Jefferson County Anti-Tuberculosis Association, which is what inspired her to start a camp for African-American children.
On June 10, 1948 the camp was raided by members of the Ku Klux Klan during a training session for Girl Scout leaders. The attackers searched the women's pocketbooks and wrote down their names and addresses. The incident, along with similar raid two days earlier at Camp Blossom Hill in Birmingham's Brummitt Heights neighborhood, prompted Birmingham attorney Abe Berkowitz to form a coalition of business and civic groups to demand better enforcement against Klan terrorism. In 1949 Governor Jim Folsom signed an "Anti-Masking Bill" aimed at reducing Klan activity.
Camp Fire USA began leasing the camp during the summers in 1981. The Youth Service League merged with Camp Fire in 2003 to help preserve the camp. Currently Camp Fletcher boasts a 100-seat dining hall, three dormitory cabins, an outdoor environmental classroom, a swimming pool, low ropes course, and general store.
About the Program: The Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage is a listing of buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts worthy of preservation. These properties may be of national, state, and local significance. The designation is honorary and carries no restrictions or financial incentives. The Alabama Historical Commission created the Alabama Register to provide the public with a quick and easy way to document and recognize historic places, such as houses, schools, churches, and commercial buildings that are at least 40 years old.
About the Alabama Historical Commission
Located in historic downtown Montgomery at 468 S. Perry Street, the Alabama Historical Commission is the state historic preservation agency for Alabama. The agency was created by an act of the state legislature in 1966 with a mission to protect, preserve and interpret Alabama’s historic places. AHC works to accomplish its mission through two fields of endeavor: Preservation and promotion of state-owned historic sites as public attractions; and, statewide programs to assist people, groups, towns, and cities with local preservation activities. For a complete list of programs and properties owned and operated by the AHC, hours of operation, and admission fees please visit ahc.alabama.gov
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