Sea Scouts Ship 400

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Sea Scouts Ship 400 in Cherokee County. Now, you might not expect to find a sailboat in the piney woods of East Texas, but friend, that's exactly where this story drops anchor. Back in 1936, a Jacksonville attorney by the name of John C.

Box, Jr., looked around at the local boys and decided they needed something bigger than themselves to work toward. So he organized a unit, sailing under the name Sea Scouts Ship 400, a branch of the Boy Scouts of America, built on the idea that maritime skills could sharpen a young mind and toughen a young body all at once. Now here's where it gets interesting.

The Works Progress Administration, the WPA, constructed four buildings out of red ironstone right there for the troop. Four buildings, each one solid and purposeful. But one of them, well, one of them was built in the shape of a hull and deck of a sailboat, fronted by a small amphitheater.

Picture that. A landlocked sailboat, deep in Cherokee County, where boys learned to hoist a sail, tie a proper knot, send a signal, and carry themselves through nautical procedure like they had the Gulf of Mexico just over the treeline. That classroom saw a lot of Texas history wash through its doors.

The Depression, when families were scraping for everything they had. Then World War Two, when the whole country was holding its breath. And then the long, complicated exhale of post-war Texas.

Through all of it, Ship 400 kept sailing. The unit dissolved in 1951, after fifteen years of operation, fifteen years of turning East Texas boys into something a little sharper, a little steadier, a little more ready for whatever horizon was coming. Not a bad run for a sailboat that never touched water.

What the marker says

As a branch of the Boy Scouts of America, Sea Scouting promotes mental and physical fitness through maritime skills. In 1936, Jacksonville attorney John C. Box, Jr., organized a unit for local boys, sailing the Sea Scouts Ship 400. The Sea Scouts met in one of four buildings made of red ironstone by the works progress administration (WPA). One of the buildings was built in the shape of a hull and deck of a sailboat, fronted by a small amphitheater. This served as a classroom for nautical procedure, sail hoisting, signaling and knot tying. The ship 400 dissolved in 1951. In its 15 years of operation, the Sea Scouts provided a fun and educational opportunity during the depression, WWII and post-war Texas.