Massachusetts Girl Scouts.

The Massachusetts Council of the Girl Scouts of America was formed in 1916. In 1919 it was incorporated and divided into 3 regional divisions. Activities included leadership training, camping, health education, and volunteer work.

From the description of Records, 1915-1967 (inclusive). (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 232006735

The American Girl Scout program, an adaptation of Sir Robert Baden-Powell's English Scouting and Guiding movement, was founded in Savannah, Georgia in 1912 by Juliette Gordon Low. In 1915 the program was incorporated and established their headquarters in Washington, D.C. The following year the headquarters were moved to New York City. "Local councils" were formed in Massachusetts in 1916, and by 1917 almost 800 Massachusetts girls belonged to troops in Boston, Brookline, New Bedford, Salem, Springfield, and other cities. The local councils soon joined together as a State Council to set standards for activities and uniforms. This Massachusetts Council, chartered under a new constitution and incorporated in Massachusetts in 1919, helped establish standards and regulations later adopted by the National headquarters. Women representing the Massachusetts Girl Scouts (MGS) served on the National Board from its inception, and helped set the course for scouting nationwide. Among the pioneering efforts of the MGS were the organization in 1916 of the first "Junior Scouts" (later named "Brownies") in Marblehead, and the First National Training School for Girl Scout Leaders, held at the Winsor School in Brookline in the summer of 1917.

In 1919 the Massachusetts organization was divided into the Eastern, Western, and Metropolitan (Boston) Divisions. Activities included leadership training, camping, health education, and volunteer work. Organizers and early leaders of the Massachusetts scouting movement included Sarah Louise Arnold, Augusta Batchelder Hartt, and Helen Osborne Storrow. In addition to her active involvement in Scout programs, Storrow donated "Our Chalet" in Switzerland as an international gathering place for Girl Scouts and Guides. Histories of the MGS can be found in folder 119 and in oversize folder.

From the guide to the Records, 1915-1967, (Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute)