About Us

Council History

Brief historical sketch of Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, Inc.

"I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world," an excited Juliette (Daisy) Gordon Low, founder of Girl Scouts of the USA, announced to a friend on a March evening in 1912.

Only two year’s after Juliette Low’s proclamation and the founding of Girl Scouts in America, Lone Troop 429 was organized in Griffin, Georgia, in what was to become the Girl Scouts of Pine Valley Council. In 1915, the minister’s wife at Rock Spring Presbyterian Church in Atlanta  organized a Lone Troop, the first we have a record for in what was to become the Atlanta Girl Scout Council. The same scenario was bring repeated all over Georgia as girls heard about Scouting for Girls and wanted to become part of the organization.

Girl Scout timeline

A look back at where we came from

• 1914 - First troop organized within the [future] Pine Valley Council area as Lone Troop # 429 in Griffin.
• 1915 – First known troop organized in the city of Atlanta, at Rock Spring Presbyterian Church
• 1921 - The Atlanta Girl Scout Council (Fulton and DeKalb counties) is chartered.
• 1925 – First summer camp session held at Camp Civitania (now Timber Ridge) in Mableton, Georgia.
• 1926 - Chattahoochee Valley Area Council, including West Point, GA and Chambers County, AL, is chartered
• 1930 - LaGrange Girl Scout Council chartered.
• 1937 - The Floyd County Girl Scout Council is chartered.
• 1940 - Spalding County Girl Scout Council chartered.
• 1941 - The Whitfield County Girl Scout Council (Whitfield and Murray counties) is chartered.
• 1945 - The Bartow County, Cobb County, Coweta County and Upson County Girl Scout councils are chartered.
• 1950 - West Georgia Council (Heard, Carroll and Haralson counties) chartered.
• 1952 - Pineland Council of West Georgia formed by combining several west Georgia councils.
• 1958 - Pine Valley Council chartered.
• 1959 - Fayette, Butts, Henry, Pike and Lamar counties join Pine Valley Council.
• 1959 - The Greater Atlanta, Floyd Co., Whitfield Co., Coob and Bartow Co. Councils plus nine and one half lone counties (not affiliated with a council), merge to form the Northwest Georgia Girl Scout Council.
• 1966 - First resident camp held at Camp Pine Valley in Meansville.
• 1966 - Pine Valley Council grows to 14 counties, adding Coweta County Girl Scout Council.
• 2008 - The Girl Scouts of Pine Valley Council, the Girl Scout Council of Northwest Georgia, and Forsyth Co. (former Girl Scouts of Northeast Georgia Council) merge to form Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, Inc.

Travel down memory lane

The Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta’s History/Archives Committee has an array of nostalgic and educational items on display at the Girl Scout Service Center in Mableton, offering a look at the activities and accomplishments of Girl Scouts from the past.

It is fascinating to see first-hand how the Girl Scout uniform has evolved and changed with fashion trends throughout the years. The Girl Scout pin, badge and patch collection serves as a reminder of how the issues, interests and ideas have changed for today's young women. Visitors can sift through antique publications, handbooks, camp agendas, troop scrapbooks and photos to learn more about the Girl Scout mission.

The History/Archives Committee is dedicated to finding and preserving these and other artifacts, as it helps us remember the Girl Scout past and look forward to the changes of the future. Additionally, the committee conducts oral interviews with former and current Girl Scouts, visits to troops with stories of Girl Scout yesteryear and researches national and council Girl Scout history to preserve and share the cherished Girl Scout past.
Below are three of several display windows that are maintained in the Girl Scout Service Center, Atlanta.

The History/Archives Committee is made up of Girl Scout Adults, Ambassadors and Seniors through-out the council area who love Girl Scout history and want to preserve it. The committee meets every third Sunday from 1:30 – 3:30, currently at the Mableton Service Center. For more information about the History/Archives Committee please contact staff liaison Margaret Paschal at (770_ 702-9610 or toll-free at (1-800) 771-4026; or e-mail Margaret at mpaschal@gsgatl.org.

Below are three of several display windows that were maintained in the Girl Scout Service Center in Atlanta.
The History/Archives Committee invites you to see their new displays at the Mableton Service Center, 5601 North Allen Road, Mableton.

Contribution of memorabilia to the council's archives is gratefully accepted. Contact Sue Belden.