The records of Camp Filibert Roth document the administration of the camp and the range of research, training and recreational acclivities that took place there. Records include topical and correspondence files of camp directors and School of Natural Resources faculty who worked with the camp, photographs and slides of camp facilities and activities, correspondence with camp alumni and printed material.
The records were received in two principal accessions. Boxes 1-2 were acquired from the School of Natural Resources. The second accession, boxes 3-7, consists largely of the material collected by John Carrow (1913-1995), a former student and professor in the School of Natural Resources. Carrow graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 and joined the Faculty in 1947. He was also Director of Camp Filibert Roth from 1948 to 1967. Carrow was Secretary of the School of Natural Resources Alumni Association and continued to hold that position after his retirement as a full professor in 1977. Carrow collected items of historical interest not only from Camp Filibert Roth but also from the entire School of Natural Resources.
The records are organized into eight series: Topical Files, Chronological Files, Printed Materials, Alumni Association, Camp Files, Midwest Forestry Conclave, School of Natural Resources and Visual Materials.
Camp Filibert Roth was opened in 1929 in Iron County, Michigan, as a summer field experience camp for students in the University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources. The camp was named for Professor Filibert Roth (1858-1925), founder of the School of Forestry at the University of Michigan and a leader in the field of forestry. From his arrival at the University in 1903, Roth guided the program until his retirement in 1923 at which time he was appointed Professor Emeritus. To his colleagues and students, Roth was known affectionately as "Daddy."
Prior to 1929, forestry students had been required to spend the summer between their sophomore and junior years doing surveying work at Camp Davis on Douglas Lake. The decision by the Department of Civil Engineering to relocate Camp Davis to Wyoming and the desire of the School of Forestry to have a camp located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula devoted to forestry training prompted the school in 1928 to begin investigating possible locations for a camp.
From 1929 to 1935, the camp was located temporarily at an old logging camp near Munising while a permanent location was sought. In 1935, the camp moved to its permanent location on Golden Lake near Beechwood, Michigan. The curriculum at Camp Filibert Roth combined academic and practical skills in a three-month summer session in the woods of the Upper Peninsula. Timber management classes, fire fighting skills, and harvesting techniques were required of all upper division forestry majors. With the retirement of the camp's resident manager in 1987, activities at the camp ceased. Thereafter, the camp was only utilized occasionally by graduate student researchers. Camp Filibert Roth was sold by the university in 1994.
Additional information relating to the history of Camp Filibert Roth and its activities can be found within the record group University of Michigan. School of Natural Resources.
