The Frandsen Scout Reservation is situated adjacent to the Madsen Bay unit of Scofield State Park on the Scofield Reservoir, which is named for the town of the same name. The community was named for General Charles W. Scofield, a timber contractor and local mine official. The town is opposite camp on the reservoir. Once it was the most populous community in Carbon County. Today Scofield has shrunk
to only a few permanent residents. No longer a mining town, the area is filled with summer vacation homes. The old brick school stands empty at the upper end of town and there are abandoned buildings scattered through what was once the business district. Only the cemetery on a hill to the east suggests that this was once a community of some size. Visitors to the cemetery quickly become aware of the diverse ethnicity that populated the town. Both town and cemetery along with the mines offer a great theme for the camp; following that theme the camp has its own "boot hill" in memory of the 1900 Scofield Mine Disaster (worst in the nation at that point)
In 1983 Frandsen Aquatics Base opened to Scouts, thanks to the generosity of Duane Frandsen. Later the name changed to Scofield Aquatics Base. In those early days the camp’s focus was only aquatics. Many troops asked for traditional camping merit badges (nature, pioneering, first aid, etc), so camp responded and grew into a traditional resident Scout camp. Recognizing the need for a new “brand image” Tom and TJ James, owners of the Fort Knox Safe Company offered the camp a frontier fort in 1999. The camp’s name was changed again to reflect this new theme, as Scofield Frontier Base. Over the years the Frandsens have given and sold additional acreage. They also allowed the sale of property at Bristlecone Scout Camp to generate income for the construction of the Frandsen Lodge and Trading Post. In 2010 the camp’s name was renamed the Frandsen Scout Ranch. Scofield State Park Madsen Bay Unit is situated just east of camp on the Scofield Reservoir Madsen Bay is a 40 unit campground with rest-rooms, fish cleaning and disposal areas a boat ramp and parking for day use, which Scout leaders can use to launch their own boats.
