Falling Creek Camp

Falling Creek Camp was founded as a boys-only camp in southern Henderson County as a brother camp to nearby Camp Greystone - a camp for girls only. The first session was held in summer 1969 with 110 boys.[3]

The camp has seen a couple of ownership and directorship changes since the camp opened. Yates and Marisa Pharr are the current directors, taking over Falling Creek in 2005.[4]

The camp's structure allows campers to do the activities they want to do while still having a manageable and steady schedule, a philosophy known as "structured freedom". The activities campers can experience include both regularly scheduled daily activities and a variety of activities they can do during their two free periods. The activities all fall into four categories: outdoor adventure, water, sports, and camp classics.[5]

The camp is split up into four divisions, separated by the ages and grades of the campers. The cabin areas are organized into different tribes, from youngest to oldest: Cherokee, Catawba, Tuscarora, and Iroquois. Campers live in rustic cabins of seven or eight boys with one and sometimes two counselors. The cabin mates spend a large amount of time together; in addition to sharing the same living quarters, they eat together in the dining hall, go on occasional overnight outings, and have cabin activities.

Falling Creek charges around $1000 per week, depending on the session chosen. The rate is an all-inclusive fee, and campers never need to pay for anything out of pocket. A camp store is also operated, where campers can use their "allowances" (accounts set up by their parents when dropping their sons off) to buy certain items.

The camp received some notoriety when the July 26, 2007, issue of Time featured the camp on the cover with longtime camper Hayden Futch. The article, called "The Myth About Boys" and written by Time editor David Von Drehle,[6] was researched on-location at Falling Creek in July 2007.[7]