Records of Camp Minocqua, a private camp for boys established in 1904 by Dr. John P. Sprague of Evanston, Ill. Situated on the west side of Tomahawk Lake in Oneida County, Wis., the camp may have been the first summer youth camp in northern Wisconsin. The largest portion of the collection consists of promotional brochures spanning 1907-1973. These usually include a mission statement, descriptions of staffing and the daily routine, photographs, and a listing of the previous year's campers' parents.
Also in the collection are two talks delivered by Dr. Sprague, one about the history of the camp, the other a traditional campfire tale. There is also a script of an historical pageant about the origins of the camp. The remainder of the collection consists of several camper yearbooks, a few brochures about other camps and related businesses operated by Sprague, newspaper clippings about Sprague and the camp, several photographs, and a 1973 letter from Helen Broomell (Sprague's daughter and later manager of the camp) to parents announcing the closing of the camp.
The photographs date circa 1910-circa 1970. They show camp facilities, staff members, and campers engaged in activities such as canoeing, archery, and exercising. Descriptions of the individual photographs are below.
