Troop 11 History
Sponsorship by FPC
In early 1920, First Presbyterian Church (FPC) then located at Main and McKinney Streets, organized Boy Scout Troop 11 and was granted a charter by Boy Scouts of America dated March 29, 1920. The first Scoutmaster was FPC member James Alston Clapp.
Even before that, FPC supported Houston's Boy Scout movement from its beginning. In 1915, the Houston Scout Council celebrated its first anniversary in FPC's Sunday school room. In 1916 and again in 1917, FPC Pastor Dr. William States Jacobs served as judge and awarded prizes at the first two citywide Boy Scout Relay Races. Field days were very popular at that time, and they were held at the San Jacinto Battlegrounds the first year and at San Jacinto High School the next.
The first Troop 11 actually started five years earlier, in May 1915, as an independent Troop, not affiliated with any church or other sponsor. That original Troop 11 was allied with Scouting and nothing but Scouting. But Troop 11 disbanded in 1918, either due to the Great War, or due to the 1918 worldwide Asian flu epidemic that paralyzed Houston. Health authorities quarantined thousands of Houston homes and banned all public meetings.
Troop 11's Fist Scoutmaster
FPX member James Alston Clapp, Sr. became the first Scoutmaster of the reorganized Boy Scout Troop 11, March 1920. He was an executive at the Anderson Clayton Cotton Exchange, who moved to San Antonio from Memphis, and later moved to Houston in 1917. His son’s name, Jimmy, appears on the first roster of Scouts.
Mr. Clapp is credited with starting cotton production in South America. He lost his right arm just above the elbow in a cotton gin accident. Even so, he was a successful hunter and horseman. He quickly became left-handed and taught his son how to bat and play golf left-handed.
Known for his aristocratic demeanors, Mr. Clapp was a knowledgeable herpetologist. He used his live reptile collection to fascinate and educate not only the Scouts of Troop 11, but also hundreds of other Scouts at field days, round-ups, and summer camp. He has a king snake named “Queenie.” A popular story is that he would call Queenie to dinner by banging on a tin pan, whereupon Queenie would slither down the stairs.
