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!
June 2017
The John Paul II Dining Hall
As Camp continued to grow, both in the summer and during the school year, a long overdue project was completed in 2017 – the construction of a new dining hall and indoor retreat space with a large basement storm shelter to boot!
July 2018
The Ark Gymnasium
After serving for more than 50 years, Camp’s old gym was replaced in 2018 by The Ark. This massive new building was long overdue, and it has served Camp well by providing an incredible indoor space in the winter and during stormy summer weather. Special thanks to all those that played a role in helping us to build our new dining hall and the new gymnasium.
August 2021
100th Cassidy Games
In the 21st year of the third millennium, Camp Gray hosted the monumental 100th running of the Cassidy Games. It was an event so epic, even the not-so local evening news picked up the story: Click here.