Camp Morrison in McCall officially has a new owner.
A deed transfer filed with the Valley County Recorder, obtained by BoiseDev, shows that the Boy Scout camp has been purchased by Alscott Real Estate, LLC of Boise.
Alscott is the development firm today controlled by descendants of Albertsons Inc. grocery chain founder Joe Albertson. Alscott was founded as Alsco, Inc. in 1959 by Albertson, his with Kathryn, their daughter Barbara and Barbara’s first husband JL Scott. Today, Alscott is controlled by Barbara and JL’s son, Joseph B. Scott, and grandchildren Jaime Jo Scott and Brian J. Scott. The Scott family has no ownership or other role in the Albertsons Companies grocery store chain of today.
As BoiseDev reported earlier this month, Joe Scott also owns some of the land adjacent to Camp Morrison, some of which he previously acquired from the Boy Scouts, according to reporting at the time by the Star-News of McCall. After our initial story, the Star-News confirmed the sale to Alscott.
Scouting America, the new name for the Boy Scouts, earlier this month declined to say who purchased the camp, nor would it provide concrete details for the future of the property, beyond saying scouts would continue to use Camp Morrison for the “next couple of summers.”
Scott family & McCall
An Alscott spokesperson noted that the Scott family has had roots in the McCall area for nearly a century “with a history of respecting and preserving Idaho’s natural landscape.”
The Scott family purchased a majority ownership share of Shore Lodge in 2008. The lodge on the shores of Payette Lake was known for a time as Whitetail Lodge after ownership by San Diego’s Doug Manchester. The Scott family returned the hotel to its historic Shore Lodge name and went about a multi-year project to update the property. Alscott also owns the nearby Whitetail golf club and housing development.
“There are no plans at this time for any future developments,” the spokesperson said. “We care about preserving the land and community in McCall.”
The two Camp Morrison properties, one bordered by Payette Lake and another larger inland property, are assessed at $7.82 million, according to the Valley County Assessor.
The Aslcott spokesperson said Scouting America can continue to use the camp for up to two more years. Scouting America’s Mountain West Council previously said it would use proceeds from the sale to build up operations near Stanley for future use by Scouts.
Scouting America issued a news release on the sale according to the Idaho Statesman. The release stated the sale was made on June 28th. The deed was signed by the scouts on June 21st.
Camp Morrison was dedicated in 1966 to Morrison-Knudsen founder Harry W. Morrison.
