Pierce Camp Birchmont celebrates 75 years, and 4th generation of family leaders

WOLFEBORO — As Brooke and Ben Pierce swim, create or play sports at Pierce Camp Birchmont this summer, the youngsters may well be thinking that, one day, they could own the place.

Brooke, 11, is entering her fifth summer at the camp, and Ben, 8, will experience his first. As the children of Will and Kristie Pierce — who recently became the fourth generation to lead the family facility that celebrates its 75th anniversary this year — they are both keenly aware they are next in line.

If they want to be.

“We’re very excited to be embarking on a new generation and getting the fifth generation ready with my kids up there,” Will Pierce said. “It’s a labor of love, and the idea is for the family to be there forever, passing it down through the generations.”

From May through September, the Pierce family lives at the camp, and in the winter months, they settle in Roslyn, New York, where Will’s great-grandfather, Forrester “Pop” Pierce, a high school football coach and physical education teacher, founded the family’s first camp in 1918. The Pierce County Day Camp, still in operation, was also the country’s first day camp, and purchased with a loan from the banker father of one of Pop's students.

Will's cousin runs the Roslyn camp, and when Will and Kristie return there in the winter, they help operate a preschool and school bus company that’s also in the family.

“We work with kids year-round,” Will said. “There’s nothing like watching a child have success, or gain confidence and independence. That to me is what my family’s been about, and what Birchmont has been about. It’s a labor of love.”

Camp history

Birchmont is set on 300 acres along the shores of Lake Wentworth.

Formerly a camp at which families could rent cabins and vacation, it was founded as a day camp in 1951, by Will’s grandfather, Thomas “Buddy” Pierce, and Buddy's brother, Forrester “Fosty” Pierce II, Will’s great-uncle.

It has since grown to welcome children from 21 states and eight countries.

The brothers ran the camp until the 1980s, and when they died, Will’s father, Greg — Buddy’s son — took over, and ran the camp for 37 summers.

Will and Kristie begin their tenure with this summer season.

“I remember magical summers,” Will said. “When Mom and Dad were busy getting camp ready, I’d run around in the woods and play in the fields."

A camper until he was 15 — the camp serves youngsters from 7 to 15 — Will became a counselor-in-training at 16, and says starting as young as 13, he helped his parents with maintenance projects, such as driving in fence posts.

“It’s the only job I’ve ever truly wanted,” he said. “I’m so excited to be back up there this summer.”

Mission and activities

Pierce Camp Birchmont, at 693 Governor John Wentworth Hwy, has 26 cabins, and other outbuildings for enrichment and fun.

With a mission to instill confidence and independence in children, the first campfire of the season is spent in conversations over the question, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”

Then, each camper sets a goal for the summer, and the staff commits to making sure those goals — ranging from making a new friend, to getting certified as a lifeguard — are achieved.

Thirty activities are offered at the camp, with lake activities like swimming, sailing, waterskiing, wake boarding, kayaking and canoeing serving as the foundation. There are also many sports programs, as well as arts and crafts, nature study, woodworking, poetry, and music and dance.

Will said Pierce Camp Birchmont is best known for its tennis, water sports and horseback riding programs. Coaches and other professionals lead all offerings, and a staff of 140 provides an overall camper-staff ratio of 2:1; in the cabins, the ratio is 3:1.

About Will and Kristie Pierce

After Will graduated from Dartmouth College in 2006, his father told him to go find himself a career, “and if you want to come back, I’ll welcome you with open arms.”

Will worked in real estate until 2013, when his passion for the family businesses tugged him back to New York. He currently serves on the National Board of the American Camp Association

Kristie Pierce is pleased to be helping preserve Birchmont’s core values, while growing the organization. “We are proud to carry forward the traditions that have defined Birchmont for 75 years, while thoughtfully enhancing the experience for today’s campers and families,” she said.

Growing, expanding

Recent and ongoing investments at the camp include the development of new facilities, such as an indoor basketball and gymnastics center; expanded athletic offerings, including lacrosse; and new gathering spaces designed to strengthen community connection.

A campfire amphitheater that will allow all campers to gather around one fire at once will be developed this summer on the edge of the property, bringing total investments to roughly $1 million over the next two years, according to Will.

“That’s Kristie’s and my way to say, ‘Here we are, next generation.’”