CAMP GRAY HISTORY
It all started with a simple dream way back in 1953.
Monsignor Francis Xavier Gray, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Baraboo, WI, dreamed of a “place where youths would be free and away from the temptations of the streets; where they could enjoy nature and become acquainted with it firsthand. . . a place where they could commune, under supervision, with their Creator and away from paths so frequently leading to delinquency.”
After personally scouting many potential sites, Monsignor Gray became enamored with an unoccupied, uncultivated, 100-acre wooded tract west of Highway 12, about 8 miles northwest of Baraboo.
To experience the growth of Camp Gray over the past many, many decades, keep scrolling! We’re always on the hunt for more information about the history of this great place. Please email us if you have any Camp Gray historical information or artifacts that you’d like to share! Thanks!
April 1957
Camp Grows
The Diocese of Madison, for the price of $1,500, purchased 125 acres of property adjacent to the southern boundary of camp. Camp and Diocesan leadership hoped to someday dam Harrison Creek in an effort to create a 40-acre lake. However, the DNR would not approve the plan for the 40-acre lake.
July 1957
“Camp Gray”
Sadly, Monsignor Gray, after a couple of years suffering through various ailments, died on July 27th, 1957. He never got to see the full impact of his dream. Monsignor Gray was buried in the St. Joseph Cemetery in Baraboo, WI. Fr. Vincent Browne succeeded Monsignor Gray as Camp Director, and soon thereafter, the camp was officially named Camp Gray to honor Monsignor Gray.
June 1958
Summer Camp Begins!
Camp Gray holds its first Summer Camp in 1958. A mere 25 boys attended that first summer, but it was a huge success, and it is the foundation upon which all of Camp’s future successes have been built.