FCRV/NCHA History

National Campers & Hikers Association was founded July 4, 1949 at the Beaverkill Public campsite outside Roscue, New York in the heart of the beautiful Catskill mountains by H. Ellsworth (Hank) Nathan. It was incorporated in 1954 in the state of New Jersey and first maintained a national office at Newark. In 1962 NCHA was incorporated in New York State and the National Office was moved to 7172 Transit Road. Buffalo. Since 1986 the office has been located at 4804 Transit Road, Building 2, Depew. New York.

The Beaverkill River is famous in song and story as one of the most delightful trout streams in the country. Along with its fame as a fishing spot, it now is famous as the founding site of the National Campers and Hikers Association, doing business as Family Campers and RVers, for it was along this river where Hank Nathan was camping that events led to the forming of our organization.

There was, as usual, a wonderful, friendly crowd of folks camping on the hillside when a distinguished gentleman, a doctor, drove into the area with a small boy as a companion. It subsequently developed that he was staying at one of the very fashionable hotels and had decided to go for a ride with his son. A covered bridge aroused his curiosity enough to drive through it and on the other side he found people camping and having a marvelous time. He was so impressed that he drove back to New York City, over a hundred miles, and returned with a tent of sorts and other camping equipment. Hank discovered him having all the difficulties of an amateur, and in his usual way, there was Hank ready to help.

They began to visit, as everyone does with Hank, and among other things the doctor said, "Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a camping club". This gave Hank an idea. He talked to the folks camping there and they said they would love to join, and then and there a little club was organized. This operated for several years on a more or less a local scale, and when campers outside of the group heard about how much fun the club was having, they asked to join.

In 1954 National Campers and Hikers Association was formally organized, and there are now members in every state in the Union, the Provinces of Canada and a few in other countries. In 1993 the organization found that it needed a more up-to-date image and have the name of the organization reflect the changing time. After a year of research, the organization name was changed to National Campers and Hikers Association (NCHA), doing business as Family Campers & RVers (FCRV). This name encompasses all forms of camping, from the canvas camper to the modern motor coaches.

FCRV is a member of the Federation Internationale de Camping et de Caravaning (FICC) and an International Camping Carnet is available to members planning to camp abroad.

State/Provincial Directors and their Staff assist in the organization of local chapters, of which there are thousands, and carry on educational work at local. State/Provincial and Regional levels to encourage development of more campgrounds, to support conservation efforts, to influence legislation in your area regarding items that affect our outdoor life, and in general, to improve camping, hiking and RVing for everyone’s enjoyment.

In 1960 the first Annual Meeting was held in a hotel in New York City where the bylaws for the organization were adopted. In 1960 John Grant of New Jersey was elected the first President of NCHA. Hank Nathan was the first National Director.

The first Campvention was held in 1961 in Lake of the Ozarks with 272 families in attendance. The attendance grew to 1125 families in 1962. The largest Campvention was held in Indiana in 1972 with 7842 families attending. The Campvention became our Annual Meeting where a membership meeting is held each year. In the beginning states/provinces bid on hosting the Campvention each year, but in 1998 because of decreasing membership and not having enough workers for the event, there was a regional rotation setup. Since then the different regions, each which includes several states/provinces, host the event every year.

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