Camp Mystic

Camp Mystic is a private non-denominational Christian girls' summer camp in unincorporated Kerr County, Texas, US. It is set on a 725-acre (293 ha) campus consisting of two neighboring sites 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of Hunt, near the confluence of the South Fork Guadalupe River and Cypress Creek. The camp serves girls aged eight to seventeen.

The camp was severely damaged in the July 2025 Central Texas floods; 27 people from the camp died, including 24 campers, two counselors, and the camp’s director.

The camp was founded in 1926 by E. J. Stewart, under the name Stewart's Camp for Girls.^[1] It offered a single eight-week session each summer.^[2] In July 1932, the camp suffered a flash flood which washed away several cabins, but no fatalities were reported.^[3][4] In 1937, the camp was purchased by the Stacy family, who have maintained ownership ever since.^[1] Since 1939, the camp has been an all-girls camp.^[5] By 1934^[6] and until at least June 1942, the camp hosted a ten-day Aquatic School led by the Red Cross.^[7][8] Although the camp is Christian,^[9] some Jewish Texans also sent their children there, as there were no Jewish summer camps in the area in the 1930s.^[10]

The camp paused operations during World War II from 1943 to 1945,^[1][11] when it functioned as a rest and relaxation site for soldiers, offering two six-week sessions.^[12] Following the war, the camp began offering two sessions each summer.^[2]

Inez "Iney" and Frank Harrison were brought to Mystic in December 1948 by then-owner Agnes "Ag" Stacy. They were directors of Mystic from 1948 until their retirement in 1987.^[2]

In 1978, the camp was impacted by flooding from the Guadalupe River. A program director later recalled that staff transported more than 100 campers by station wagon to higher ground during the night.^[13] The camp also faced flooding again in 1984.^[14]

The camp offered two camp sessions a year until 1983, when a third session was added.^[12] By 1996, a session at Camp Mystic cost $635 (equivalent to $1,304 in 2025).^[15] In 2011, a 30-day session cost $4,300 (equivalent to $6,154 in 2025).^[16]

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, camp leadership underwent a protracted family feud.^[5][17] As of 2025, the camp was owned by Dick and Tweety Eastland.^[18]

In the 2010s, the camp expanded from their original Guadalupe site to the new Cypress Lake site. This expansion included the construction of cabins, a dining hall, a chapel, and an archery range for the new site.^[19]

The camp was hosting 750 campers at the beginning of July 2025.^[18] Under Texas state regulations, the camp was required to have an emergency plan "in case of a disaster", which officials from the Texas Department of State Health Services approved on July 2.^[20] The state of Texas does not approve or retain copies of such plans; camps are only required to demonstrate that a plan exists.

The camp was not accredited by the American Camp Association, which recommends that campers and staff be trained to respond to natural disasters.^[13]

Between 2011 and 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency revised its Special Flood Hazard Area maps to exclude 30 camp buildings following appeals from the camp, possibly due to concerns about insurance costs or increased regulation.^[19] The Special Flood Hazard Area marks regions most at risk for 100-year floods. By 2025, at least 12 camp structures were again considered to be within the Special Flood Hazard Area, with several others partially inside it.^[19]

At 1:18 a.m. CDT on July 3, 2025, the National Weather Service office in San Antonio issued a flood watch for Kerr County, Texas and surrounding areas that would later be impacted by severe flooding.^[21] At about 4:00 a.m. on July 4, flash flooding began in Kerr County; officials were unable to issue evacuation orders due to the speed at which events unfolded.^[18] The Guadalupe River rose 26 feet (7.9 m) in approximately 45 minutes.^[22]

It was later reported that camp director Dick Eastland, age 70, had received a flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m. but did not begin evacuations until around 2:30 a.m., more than an hour later. However, the flood warning did not include an evacuation order.^[23] By that time, the river was already rising rapidly. When the Guadalupe campsite flooded, campers took shelter in cabins, a recreation hall, and on nearby hilltops.^[22] The camp’s Cypress Lake site also experienced flooding; while the water was not severe enough to inundate cabins, it caused property damage, including to the waterfront.^[24]

By dawn, campers at both the Guadalupe and Cypress Lake sites had no access to food, running water, or power.^[22] Rescue efforts were underway by the afternoon of July 4,^[22] with campers transported to an elementary school in Ingram, Texas that was being used as a reunification center.^[22]

Twenty-seven people died in the flooding: 24 campers aged 8–10, two counselors aged 18 and 19,^[25] and Dick Eastland.^[26] Eastland died while attempting to rescue campers; his body was found in an SUV along with those of three Bubble Inn campers.^[27] The camp's infrastructure was heavily damaged.^[28] The camp's gatehouse and a storage building were destroyed.^[27] As of February 6, 2026, all but one of the bodies had been recovered.^[29][30]

In September 2025, Camp Mystic announced in an email that it would partially reopen the Camp Mystic–Cypress Lake campus, which had not sustained damage during the flood, for the summer of 2026.^[31] In November 2025, the families of six children and the two counselors killed in the flooding filed two lawsuits against the camp’s owners and other parties, claiming negligence. The suit claims that despite the camp being located in a known high-risk flood zone, campers were told to remain in their cabins, the camp had not adopted a legally required evacuation plan, and staff prioritized saving equipment over evacuation—creating what the filings described as a "self-created" disaster.^[32] Separate lawsuits were also filed by the families of two other deceased campers.

Shortly after the suits were filed, Camp Mystic issued two statements—one from the camp and one from its attorneys—offering prayers for the families and asserting that there had been no prior warning and that the flood was completely unexpected.^[33] A lawsuit filed by Will and CiCi Steward, the parents of camper Cile Steward, whose body has not been recovered, alleges that the camp ignored multiple flood warnings.^[30]

In December 2025, Camp Mystic announced that it would install a flood warning system on the campgrounds.^[34] By February 2026, five lawsuits representing 15 families had been filed against the camp.^[35] That same month, Will and CiCi Steward sought an injunction to prevent Camp Mystic from reopening in March 2026 as planned, arguing that reopening would "destroy evidence".^[29][35] On March 4, 2026, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled in the plaintiffs' favor to halt renovations to the Guadelupe Camp until the investigations are complete, but allowing the Cypress Lake campus to re-open in the summer of 2026.^[36][37]

The camp is set on about 725 acres (293 ha) in unincorporated Kerr County, Texas, 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of the city of Hunt. The campus consists of two neighboring sites near the confluence of the South Fork Guadalupe River and Cypress Creek.^{[38][39][5][40]} The camp serves girls aged eight to seventeen.^[5]

The camp's recreation hall was built in the 1920s, using lumber from local cypress trees.^[41]

As of 2018, the camp had 78 counselors.^[12] At the time of the 2025 flood, the camp had 108 staff.^[20]

As of 2018, the camp offered three sessions each summer: two 30-day sessions and a 13-day session in early August.^[12]

The camp offers a wide range of outdoor activities, including archery, canoeing,^[5] cheerleading, fishing,^[41] horseback riding, lacrosse, and riflery,^[42] as well as indoor activities such as cooking, journalism, and "beauty", including classes in "politeness training" and facials.^[42] Upon arrival, campers choose their activities and receive individual schedules.^[12] Campers are divided into two teams—the Kiowa and Tonkawa "tribes"—which compete in sports and games throughout each session.^[12][43]

Campers do not have access to electronics and are encouraged to write letters home. Parents are offered a one-way email service to contact their children.^[12]

Sundays are "reserved for praise and worship on the waterfront and vespers on Chapel Hill".^[43]

Campers are assigned seats in the dining hall, with arrangements changed weekly.^[12] Fried chicken is served every Sunday,^[5] and Blue Bell ice cream is offered daily for dessert after lunch.^[43]

The camp maintains ties with the boys' camps Camp Stewart and Camp Vista, and campers visit Mystic for dances and "a program of skits".^[12]

Some campers have been children or grandchildren of Texas governors Price Daniel, Dan Moody, and John Connally.^[5][44] First Lady Laura Bush worked as a counselor at the camp while she was in college,^[45] and Lady Bird Johnson attended events at the camp.^[44]

• Rosebud Baker – American comedian and actress^[46]
• Pamela Brown – American TV reporter/newscaster (born 1983)^[47]
• Luci Baines Johnson – American businesswoman and philanthropist (born 1947)^[48]
• Mary Martin – American singer and actress (1913–1990)^[49][50]
• Lynda Bird Johnson Robb – First Lady of Virginia and daughter of Lyndon B. Johnson (born 1944)^[46]

• Christian Camp and Conference Association – American member organization for Christian camps

• Official website