Since 1930
About & Contact
The East Texas Area Council delivers Scouting to young people and families across seventeen counties of East Texas.
Who we are
The council was formed in 1930 from the merger of the Davey Crockett Council, the Pine Tree Area Council and the Tejas Council, and has served East Texas ever since. Today it is Council 585 of Scouting America, with its service center in Tyler.
The council's job is to make Scouting possible: chartering and supporting the packs, troops, crews and ships, training their adult leaders, running camps and camporees, and keeping the whole thing safe and properly insured. The actual Scouting happens in the units, week by week, led by volunteers.
The seventeen counties
Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Gregg, Harrison, Houston, Marion, Nacogdoches, Panola, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, Shelby, Smith, Trinity, Upshur and Wood — organised into four districts.
Camp Pirtle
The council owns and operates the George W. Pirtle Scout Reservation on Lake Murvaul in Panola County, serving Scouts since 1964.
Visit the camp site (opens in a new tab)
Order of the Arrow
Scouting's national honour society is represented here by Tejas Lodge 72, whose members are elected by their own troops for their camping and service.
Get in touch
Contact
Council service center
1331 E. 5th Street
Tyler, TX 75701
For registration, fees, policies, unit charters and anything official, the council office is the place to call.
This website
etacbsa.com is an independent, volunteer-run site. If a page here is wrong, out of date, or missing something — a district contact, a Facebook page, an event — please tell us.
Follow along
Photos from campouts, camporees and courts of honour across the council.
Registered leaders
Council news and discussion happen in the East Texas Area Council Facebook group — a private group for registered adults aged 18 and over with current Safeguarding Youth Training.
Reporting a concern at a youth camp
Licensed youth camps in Texas are regulated by the Texas Department of State Health Services. Concerns about a camp's health, safety or licensing can be reported directly to DSHS.
DSHS Youth Camp complaint process (opens in a new tab)
Concerns about the behaviour of a registered adult in Scouting should go immediately to the council service center on 903-597-7201. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911 first.