Dr. E. Urner Goodman and Carroll A. Edson founded the Order of the Arrow (O.A.) in 1915 at the Treasure Island Camp of the Philadelphia Council, Boy Scouts of America. It became an official program experiment in 1922 and an approved part of the Scouting program in 1934. In 1948, the O.A., recognized as the BSA’s national brotherhood of honor campers, became an official part of the national camping program of the Boy Scouts of America.  

     In 1947, the Central Georgia Council became the 358th council to charter an O.A. Lodge and held its first induction at Camp Benjamin Hawkins May 24, 1947, selecting Billy Rice as Lodge Chief. Echeconnee Creek is a prominent land feature near Camp Benjamin Hawkins, and members of the Lodge incorporated this and # 358 into the lodge name Echeconnee Lodge # 358 W.W.W. Echeconnee is a Creek Indian word meaning "Deer Trap Creek," from echo, "deer," and conna, "trap." It was so named because deer that came to drink from Echeconnee creek were attacked by Indians before they could escape up the steep banks.  

     Arrowmen chose the deer as the official totem of the lodge. In 1952, the O.A. national committee asked the BSA to approve a lodge emblem that would fit the right pocket flap of the uniform. In 2010, O.A. national required Echeconnee to design a new lodge flap. Lodge members based the design of our lodge flap on the totem of the Lodge. The border represents a pottery design used by the Creek Nation, the deer in the foreground represents the totem of our Lodge, and the creek in the background symbolizes Echeconnee Creek, after which our Lodge is named.        

     The most recent Lodge History document has been a living document and you can contribute to making it as complete as possible, To contribute documents, photos, or written stories to the Echeconnee Lodge History, please send email or scanned images to History@echeconnee.org. Your collected material can trigger many good memories for former and current Echeconnee Lodge members. We don’t want information and memorabilia about the history of the Echeconnee Lodge to be lost forever.

Photos:

• scanned photographs taken at Echeconnee Lodge activities

• scanned photographs taken at CBH

• photos of the Lodge members: dance team, ceremony team, officers

• photos of the OA Lodge building

• photos of the CBH Staff

• photos of the 1998 Lodge Chiefs’ Reunion

Newsletters:

• scanned copies of “The Buckskin” from any year

• scanned copies of “The Deerpath” prior to 1977 and from 1985 to 1996

• scanned copies of other Lodge mailings and notices

Documents:

• scanned copies of any documents related to the Echeconnee Lodge

• lists of Lodge or Chapter officers

• programs, schedules, or handouts from Lodge Events

Patches:

• scanned images of any patches or memorabilia issued by the Echeconnee Lodge prior to 1970

• history of specific Echeconnee patches:

— Who designed the patch?

— When was the patch issued?

— What is the meaning or symbolism of the design?

Stories:

• written descriptions of adventures, activities, successes and mishaps of Echeconnee arrowmen

• comments, suggestions, and articles from former Echeconnee Lodge officers