In an area of Greenwich, CT called Cos Cob, there as an estate once owned by a founder of the Boy Scouts of America. Ernest Thompson-Seton held campouts here next to his man-made lake. This rock sculpture, nicknamed Medicine Rock, featured prominently in those early ceremonies.
From a 2012 Greenwich Times article:
"When the time came last spring to find an Eagle Scout service project that would earn him his Eagle Scout badge, Robby Tolette of Cos Cob consulted his Eagle Scout advisor and Cos Cob neighbor, Nancy Chapin. She said she had the perfect idea for him.
Chapin, besides advising on Eagle Scout projects, is a board member of the Greenwich Riding and Trails Association (GRTA) representing the area of Cos Cob that includes the former Pomerance-Tuchman property that now belongs to the Town and is commonly called Pomerance Park. Chapin and her organization have been working with Bruce Spaman and the Department of Parks and Recreation on maintaining and restoring historic trails on park lands -- so she suggested that Tolette could clear a forgotten trail she'd found on the Pomerance-Tuchman property .
Tolette was no stranger to the property. "I've walked those trails my whole life," he says.
He also knew the Pomerance-Tuchman property was once the estate of Ernest Thompson Seton, a Cos Cob resident of some note, who is one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America. So, Tolette was always fascinated to walk there. "I would say to myself, `Wow, this is where it (Scouting) all started,'" he says.
But before the clearing was set to begin in June, Chapin, who spent much of her childhood on the property, scouted out the chosen trail and came upon a strange rock sculpture in the tangle of overgrowth that she had long thought was a sculpture site left behind by the Pomerance owners.
She was told by Pomerance and related Tuchman heirs, who knew about the property's history, that no sculpture site existed. But, they had a name for that high bluff area -- the "Indian Village." It was thought to be where Ernest Thompson Seton and his League of the Woodcraft Indians (the boys' group that inspired the creation of the Boy Scouts of America) worked on their outdoor skills.
Tolette and his Troop 9 began their clearing project with help from members of the GRTA and Nancy Chapin's husband Andy and his chainsaw skills.
"We worked over two weekends," says Robby, "taking away as many as 50-60 wheelbarrows of overgrowth to clear the trail. There were mountains of brush and fallen trees."
It was not until the fallen trees were cleared away that the strange rock sculpture came into full view for Robby and his troop. "It was really cool," says Robby. "It was hidden under many decades of fallen down trees. It's amazing it survived all the trees crashing down on it."
The rock was actually two separate rocks cemented together. On the top Robby found more cement. Something must have been placed on the top, he surmised.
Then, Chapin made a discovery of her own.
"I took a photo of the rock and googled Seton's name for his home, Wyndygoul," she says.
And up popped a startling photograph dated 1905 showing a campground with young boys appearing to be doing an Indian-style war dance around a campfire. In the center of the picture is the tall double rock bedecked with a menacing buffalo skull. Standing next to the rock is Ernest Thompson Seton himself, beating a cymbal for the war dancers.
Tolette's Eagle Scout project had uncovered the original Seton campground, placed as it was overlooking Seton's manmade lake. It was here that Seton's precursor to the Boy Scouts, the Woodcraft Indians met and held their campfire council meetings and dances. Tolette and his troops had brought into view what some might consider the first Boy Scout campground.
Also revealed, with further sleuthing by Chapin, was the true name of the mysterious stone structure -- Standing Rock, and the campground area -- Standing Rock Village, which she learned from a recent book: "Ernest Thompson Seton -- The Life and Legacy of an Artist and Conservationist."
It was here in 1902 that Seton created the League of the Woodcraft Indians that would become an American youth organization promoting outdoor skills, self-improvement, and nature study that would to some degree morph into the Boy Scouts of America.
Recently, Tolette was officially inducted as an Eagle Scout having successfully completed his unique Eagle Scout service project. He is headed for Ithaca College in the fall with a focus on environmental studies. But, his eye is still on that trail that leads to the Standing Rock campground that he and his troop revived.
"We've created a foot path, covered with wood chips," he says.
But as of this writing there are no signs marking the historic path and Seton campground site.
"I'm working on it," Tolette says."
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The plaque was placed in June of 2017.
"Forever emblazoned in bronze, Ernest Thompson Seton is back where it all started.
Last Friday, as the rain began to fall over a canopy of trees, members of the Greenwich Boy Scouts community gathered in Pomerance Park to pay homage to Seton, a founding member of the Boy Scouts of America and the Campfire Club of America.
The park, which was once known as Wyndygoul, an estate Seton built in the early 1900’s, is the birthplace of a forerunner to Scouting. Just up the path from the newly dedicated plaque sits the Medicine Rock, a ceremonial center-stone of the Woodcraft Indians, a group Seton started to teach youth about the woods that eventually morphed into the Boy Scouts.
The rock and original campsite had sat untouched for many years, collecting fallen trees and debris. It was re-discovered in 2012 by Robby Tolette, a member of the Boy Scouts who earned his Eagle Scout badge upon finding the historical grounds.
Now, with the fallen trees cleared away and the original campsite rejuvenated along with a brand new plaque, this area in Pomerance Park will be forever preserved and memorialized."
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Since the publication of this article, a plaque has been placed on a nearby rock that gives the history of the spot and the sculpture.