The history of Camp Tonkawa

Camp Tonkawa was founded by the Holtzman family in 2002.  Prior to founding the camp, the Holtzmans had formed a weekly scout group of homeschooled children called "The Trackers" that met for over ten years. They chose as curriculum Tom Brown Jr.'s “Books of Survival” and “Nature Awareness” as well as Jon Young's “Kamana Program” to serve as a guide with educational and fun hands-on activities to do outdoors. 

As the group grew, a safe place for children to freely wander and also take part in overnight camps became a pressing need. The Holtzmans filled this need by purchasing a 35-acre tract of land outside of Collinsville, TX. The land became the site for monthly weekend camps for families to attend and learn about camping, survival, and the plant and animal wildlife in the North Texas area.

Beginning as a Sole Proprietorship, Camp Tonkawa became an official Outdoor Learning Center as well as a non-profit organization in March of 2009, when the Certificate of Formation for "Camp Tonkawa Outdoor Learning Center, Inc." as a Domestic Nonprofit Corporation was filed in the state of Texas. Articles of Incorporation are on file. We were blessed to have Heidi Kocher, attend our camp as a Girl Scout Leader, who saw our protential and wanted to protect it by changing us into a 501c3 non-profit. She donated her time and knowledge doing all this work work pro bono, a gift of love to us. The initial Board consisted of April Holtzman, Will Andrews, and Mark Blessing. The current members of the board can be found on this page.

In 2005, Cherokee Indian, Grey Wolf / Randy Scism, became a major participant at Camp Tonkawa. He has left his mark in every aspect of the facility and in the hearts of many. See more on the A page for Randy/Grey Wolf