A local boy scout group has a new home in a long-abandoned historic building

For 13 years, the Troop 5 Boy Scout Hut on Ingleside Avenue sat abandoned and disheveled. Now thanks to the efforts of a curious young man, both the troop and hut are active once again.

Robbie Thomas, an Eagle Scout from Gray, Ga., stumbled upon the hut by chance back in 2015.

“As happenstance would go, I took a wrong turn on my way to a dentist appointment and noticed an old hut with a hole kicked in the door,” Thomas said. “I let myself in and realized it was abandoned.”

According to Thomas, the hut deteriorated to the point of vines growing through the windows and certain areas needed replacing.

“So I spent my whole Christmas break coming up [to the hut] and cleaning it up,” he said. “After a couple of weeks I finally found Mr. Burns, who was the caretaker at the time, and we started working to restore it and get back to the way it was.”

Derry Burns, 69, is a former scoutmaster who has been involved with Troop 5 and the scouts for over 33 years. Burns’ grandfather, Henry Burns, is the namesake of the park next to where the hut was built.

A fifth generation Maconite, Burns feels a strong connection and awareness of the history of both the hut and the troop.

“Troop Five is the oldest scout troop in Macon, so it has a lot of historical significance. It was chartered on December 31, 1932,” Burns said. “And to raise money to build the hut, the scouts would go downtown and sell donuts two cents a piece or three for a nickel.”

The hut eventually closed down in 2005 due to the lack of members in Troop 5. In 2016, the City of Macon revealed plans to tear down the hut in order to make more room for the park.

In August 2016 Thomas launched a GoFundMe page to raise money in hopes of saving the hut from demolition. Over $2,000 was raised, and the funds went towards repairing and bringing the hut up to code. With his efforts and the community’s support, he was able to prevent the historical building from being torn down.

His next step was to get the hut fully functional.

“A big part was getting the electrics checked out, and making sure nothing had gotten damaged while it sat empty for 13 years,” Thomas said.

Some of the upgrades to the hut include a functioning bathroom and an updated air conditioning system. With the hut now in better condition, both Burns and Thomas encouraged local children to become be a part of Troops 5’s scouts .

“The scouts are an important organization and they teach so many great skills that young men need,” said Burns. “We hope we can get some local kids out here so they can experience the benefits that comes with being in a troop.”

To find out more about Troop 5 and the Boy Scout hut, visit the Facebook page here.

This story was originally published October 31, 2018 at 10:46 AM.