Pictured above is Troop 1 founding Scoutmaster William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt and Lord Baden-Powell the founder of the worldwide Scouting  movement taken in 1936 at the former Mortimer L. Schiff  Scout Reservation, now the Schiff Nature Preserve.The grave of "Green Bar Bill" lies within the Mortimer L. Schiff Scout Reservation. Today over 310 acres of the original reservation are part of the Schiff Nature Preserve. William "Green Bar Bill" Hillcourt, participated on the BSA Handbook Editorial Board and contributed to writing the 6th, 7th, and 8th editions of the BSA Handbook. He later  in 1979 was the author of 9^th  edition of the BSA Handbook.

The original Schiff Scout Reservation was 500 a acre camp ground in       operation from  1932 to 1979. The land was purchased for the BSA by Mrs. Jacob   Schiff in memory of her son, Mortimer, who died an untimely death while     President of the BSA in 1931. Mortimer L. Schiff was the father of John M.   Schiff; both of whom were World Scout Committee members and notable   early Boy Scouts of America (BSA) leaders. The Scout Reservation was formally   deidcated on October 18, 1933. 

The Boy Scouts of America's National Training Center was   located at the Schiff Reservation from 1933 to 1979 as well as the   Ellsworth   H. Augustus International Scout House. 

Notably, the first Wood Badge advanced leadership training courses for adult Scout Leaders in the United States was held under the leadership of "Green Bill Bar" at the Schiff Reservation in 1936. Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, introduced the program to the US in 1936. The Wood Badge was offically adopted by BSA in 1948, with William Hillcourt playing a key role. The first official BSA Wood Badge course in 1948 was held at Schiff Reservation, with Bill Hillcourt as the Scoutmaster. The Wood Badge Lodge, built in the 1960 still remains on the Schiff Nature Preserve today as well as  the Marge Davidson Administration Building (now the Schiff Nature Center) and the Dan Beard Cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the National Council moved to Irving, Texas, the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico became the new home of the National Training Center. The BSA National Headquarters  was also relocated from North Brunswick, New Jersery to Irving,Texas in1979. The Scout Reservation was later saved and aquired as the Schiff Nature Preserve.

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