The Texas summer camp hit by massive flooding on Friday has been in the same family for generations and counts relatives of top Texas politicians among its alumnae.
Rescue crews continue to search for two dozen children from Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp for girls in the Texas Hill Country. The powerful storm that raised the Guadalupe River by 26 feet in just 45 minutes on Friday has killed at least 37 people.
The camp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Camp Mystic was first established in 1926 by “Doc” Stewart, a University of Texas coach, according to the camp’s website.
In 1939, it was purchased by Agnes Stacy and her husband “Pop” Stacy. They and their children—Anne Stacy Eastland Spears and William Gillespie Stacy Jr.—kept the camp in continuous operation, except when it served as a rehabilitation and recovery camp for World War II veterans from 1943 to 1945.
The current owners and executive directors are Dick and Tweety Eastland, who are the third generation to manage Camp Mystic. Dick, who is Agnes Stacy’s grandson, and Tweety also make their home at Mystic, according to the website.
The camp has reportedly drawn girls from top Texas families during its century-long history. The daughters of Texas Governors Price Daniel, Dan Moody, and John Connally have attended, according to a Texas Monthly article from 2011.
In addition, the daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters of President Lyndon Johnson also went to the camp as well a daughter and a granddaughter of James Baker, who served in top roles for multiple presidents.
Before buying Camp Mystic with her husband in 1939, Agnes Stacy was a strong believer that women should participate in sports.
According to Texas Monthly, Anne Morgan—the daughter of banking magnate J. P. Morgan—asked Stacy to help rebuild France after World War I. Stacy developed a physical education program to help children traumatized by the war.
After returning from Europe, Stacy taught physical education at the University of Texas, then took a job at the camp that would become Mystic, the report said.
She and her husband sold everything they owned and borrowed $50,000, an enormous sum at the time, to purchase the camp after the owner died.
Stacy sought to foster emotional and physical self-reliance among its campers, according to Texas Monthly, which cited an old brochure from her time.
“By close contact with girls their own age, Mystic aspires to develop in its campers loyalty, open-mindedness, and tolerance of individual differences,” it said.
