LILLIAN MOUNTFORD AND MOUNTFORD LODGE

Download PDF

Today’s Mountford Lodge sits on the area originally called Whippoorwill, one of the original three campsites when Camp Potomac Woods first opened in 1948.  Whippoorwill was the sleep-away (resident) campsite location for the Brownies.  At that time, Brownies were the youngest scouts, because the Daisy  level had not yet been created.  The Brownies at Whippoorwill slept in tents, and their program included swimming, games, new songs, outdoor, cooking, and beginning campcraft. 

Mountford Lodge was built at the Whippoorwill campsite in 1949 and was named in honor of Lillian Mountford, a local Girl Scout leader and active volunteer.  Eventually this area ceased to be called Whippoorwill and was referred to as Mountford.

Mrs. Mountford dedicated 49 years of her life to Girl Scouts.  She held various executive positions with councils in California, Hawaii, New York, Virginia, the Panama Canal region, and Washington, D.C. Mrs. Mountford’s work with Girl Scout councils in Virginia and the District of Columbia began in 1945, when she served on the national board for the Rockwood Girl Scouts in the  Potomac area. 

In 1949, Mountford Lodge at Camp Potomac Woods near Leesburg, Virginia, was dedicated in her honor, and in 1958 she was chosen as one of five outstanding Girl Scout leaders in the Washington, D.C. area.  To this day, Girl Scout troops still enjoy overnight campouts in the quaint Mountford Lodge with its hardwood floors and cozy stone fireplace.  There is a bronze plaque located inside the lodge, honoring the memory of Lillian Mountford.