Old Girls Camp Maogiha
An interesting piece of old Bella Vista history relates to the establishment of a summer girls’ camp, called Camp Maogiha in the late 1920s. The girls who stayed at this camp came from the town of Okmulgee, Okla., just south of Tulsa, which benefited from the oil boom in the early 1900s.
According to the www. okhistory.org website, “Following the discovery of the nearby Morris and Lucky oil pools in 1907, the town expanded into a twenty-block square around the council house. Five local refineries were operational by the early 1920s. … The oil boom brought the city’s population to approximately 35,000 during the 1920s.”
Camp Maogiha was evidently located on property just south of Lake Bella Vista, owned by a man named George Swift. Swift had wanted to start a Bella Vista Gun & Rod Club on his property but was prohibited by the Linebarger Brothers from using the name Bella Vista, so he changed the name of his club to the Ozark Gun & Rod Club.
In the late 1920s, Swift started publishing his own newspaper, which he called “Ozark Sneezes” as a competitor to the Linebarger newspaper, the “Breezes.”
In the July 31, 1926, issue of his “Ozark Sneezes,” he wrote, “Mrs. John A. Rice arrived at the Rice home on the property of the Ozark Gun & Rod Club Friday night. Mrs. Rice has been in … North Carolina … where she delivered a number of lectures both to mothers and young girls. It is with great pride and pleasure that the Editor of the Ozark Sneezes is permitted to announce that arrangements have been completed where Mrs. Rice and Mrs. George M. Swift will use the property of the Ozark Gun & Rod Club as an exclusive camp for girls, beginning next summer. In addition to the present home of Mrs. and Mrs. Swift located on the property, such additional buildings as are necessary will be completed in ample time for the summer of 1927. This property comprises about 60 acres and will be equipped and operated along the line of numerous such Camps located in … North Carolina, where Mrs. Rice and Mrs. Swift have been studying Camp Life for Girls. … The … Ozark Gun & Rod Club will be completed in time for next season and the property will be operated as a Gun & Rod Club in fall, winter and spring, and as a girls’ camp in the summer season.”
However, evidently, the Linebargers felt no ill will toward this camp operation, as the Linebargers’ newspaper reported in its Friday, June 6, 1930, edition of the “Bella Vista Breezes,” that Camp Maogiha, adjoining Bella Vista on the south, opened the past Monday, and said, “… Miss Carrie L. Richey, counselor of the Okmulgee Camp Fire Girls, (had) 35 girls (who) came over for a two weeks outing at their camp. Different groups of girls will come every two weeks. A vacation of two weeks every year at Camp Maogiha is a strong attraction in keeping a full membership in the Okmulgee Camp Fire Girls organization. … Recreation consisting of hikes over the beautiful hills, horseback riding, and swimming are part of each day’s program.”