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History of Mowglis

Camp Mowglis History

Over 100-Year Old Summer Camp, Inspired by Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book Stories

Explore Our Rich Legacy Through Mowglis Historical Photos

Dive into the captivating history of Mowglis with our collection of historical photos. Each image tells a story, preserving the memories and experiences that define our beloved camp.


At the turn of the last century, Boston educator Elizabeth Ford Holt was inspired by Kipling’s Jungle Book stories. In the Jungle Book, a small boy named Mowgli grows up in the jungle and is raised by a wolf pack. Mowgli learns important life lessons from the animals of the jungle, such as trust, teamwork, patience, leadership, empathy, self reliance, and kindness.


Mrs. Holt was concerned that young men were no longer learning many important lessons growing up in urban and suburban environments. It became her dream to establish a place where they could spend the summer learning the lessons that little Mowgli learned in the jungle. In 1903 she purchased a large farm on the shores of Newfound Lake and founded Mowglis School of the Open.


With the permission of author Rudyard Kipling, she was able to borrow names from his Jungle Books, and to this day many of the buildings at Mowglis carry such names as Toomai, Baloo, and Akela. Throughout his life, Mr. Kipling maintained an active interest in this undertaking so strongly influenced by his inspiring and exciting stories.


Mr. Kipling also instructed Mrs. Holt on how to pronounce Mowglis (“Mow” sounds like cow, and “glee”), and how to pluralize the name of Mowgli the boy character in the books, by adding a silent “s”.


In the spring of 1925 Mrs. Holt passed the camp to her long-time Assistant, Col. Alcott Farrar Elwell, who ran Mowglis for 27 years. After the Colonel’s retirement, Mr. Darwin P. Kingsley and Mr. John C. Adams each ran the camp for five years. In 1962 the the Holt-Elwell Memorial Foundation was established to acquire the camp and ensure the continuity of the program as a non-profit institution. To this day the Holt-Elwell Memorial Foundation carries on the traditions that were established in the early 1900s by the founder, Mrs. Holt.


In recognition of Mowglis’ history as one of the first summer camps in American and the first camp for boys under the age of 14, we were added to National Register of Historic Places.


 

Current Weather

Last updated: June 16, 2025 8:58 am

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  • Visibility: 7 miles
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The Mow-Trow Gear Exchange: Smart & Sustainable Gear Sharing:

If your son has outgrown Mowglis uniform items (aka Mow-Trow) that are still in good shape, please add them to this spreadsheet. If you’re looking for Mow-Trow or other gear (hiking boots, backpacks, etc.), you can check out this spreadsheet, and if you find what you’re looking for, contact the parent who posted it up and either arrange for shipping (or to pick it up if you live in the same area).

 

The best way to pay for shipping will be for the family with the items to box them up and bring them to a UPS Store and have the parent receiving the items call the store with their credit card number. That is how we send lost and found items at the end of the summer, and it works quite well. Please note when items have been claimed once they have been. Any unclaimed items can be brought to camp on arrival day or shipped to camp.

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Protect Your Investment: Program Protector Tuition Insurance:

Program Protector, tuition insurance, is now available for purchase during the online registration process.

 

If purchased, may protect up to the full cost of your son’s session and include various other benefits should the need arise.

 

To buy this coverage, please go HERE.

 

Determine if Program Protection Tuition Insurance is right for you by going HERE.

Please be in touch if you have any questions about this program. 

 

PLEASE submit all camper forms by May 15th. There aren’t too many forms; all are important, and most can be completed right online.

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Keeping Campers Safe: Our Tick Management Approach:

How do you manage the threat of ticks?

While we have fewer ticks in NH than in more southern New England states, we still take ticks extremely seriously.

 

Here are some big-picture ways we protect our campers from ticks:

 

  • Our defense starts with staff education – all campers and counselors are taught what, where, and when to look for, and we have the campers do tick checks at least daily and every time they’ve been out in the bushes.
  • If a tick is found embedded on a camper while at camp, he will go to the nurse for removal and bite-site mapping, and then the tick is saved, and the camper will be monitored daily for any signs of infection.
  • If there is a parental desire or signs of infection, the tick is sent to a lab for testing.
  • We have bottles of bug spray throughout camp and on all trips.
  • We cut back brush to minimize the chance of ticks hopping onto folks as they walk around camp.

Mowglis Boys Summer Campers are Family

Our families know that Mowglis overnight summer camp for boys aged 7-15 is an extraordinary place. This is due in no small part to the wonderful families who have chosen our outdoor leadership camp for their sons. In joining the Mowglis family, you help us pass the torch, carrying on the tradition of summer camp to future generations and other families across the country.

 

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for becoming part of the Camp Mowglis family. Please help us spread the joy of camping. If you know of someone you’d like to invite to join our camping family, please complete our camp referral form so we can reach out.

 

Thank you – and see you soon!

Nick Robbins, Director

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Nick Robbins

Director of Camp Mowglis

[email protected]

(603) 744-8095

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