Masonic lodge
A Masonic lodge termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets; every new lodge must be warranted or chartered by a Grand Lodge, but is subject to its direction only in enforcing the published constitution of the jurisdiction. By exception the three surviving lodges that formed the world's first known grand lodge in London have the unique privilege to operate as time immemorial, i.e. without such warrant. A Freemason is entitled to visit any Lodge in any jurisdiction in amity with his own. In some jurisdictions this privilege is restricted to Master Masons, he is first required to check, certify, the regularity of the relationship of the Lodge – and be able to satisfy that Lodge of his regularity of membership. Freemasons gather together as a Lodge to work the three basic Degrees of Entered Apprentice and Master Mason. Technically, Freemasons meet as a lodge not in a lodge. In this context, the word "lodge" refers to a local chapter of Freemasons.
However, the term is misused to refer to the buildings or rooms that Masons meet in. Masonic premises are sometimes referred to as temples. In many countries Masonic centre or Masonic hall has now replaced these terms to avoid arousing prejudice and suspicion. Several different lodges, or other Masonic organisations use the same premises at different times. Blue lodges, craft lodges or ancient craft lodges refer to the lodges that work the first three Masonic degrees, rather than the appendant Masonic orders such as York Rite and Scottish Rite; the term "craft lodge" is used in Great Britain. The blue lodge is said to refer to the traditional colour of regalia in lodges derived from English or Irish Freemasonry. Although the term was frowned upon, it has gained widespread and mainstream usage in America in recent times. Research lodges have the purpose of furthering Masonic scholarship. Quatuor Coronati Lodge is an example of a research lodge. Many jurisdictions have well-established research lodges, which meet less than blue lodges and do not confer degrees.
In Great Britain, a lodge of instruction may be associated with a Lodge, but is not constituted separately. The lodge of instruction provides the officers and those who wish to become officers an opportunity to rehearse ritual under the guidance of an experienced brother. In some jurisdictions in the United States, the lodge of instruction serves as a warranted lodge for candidate instruction in other aspects of Freemasonry besides ritual rehearsal, as well as hosting a speaker on topics both Masonic and non-Masonic. In Great Britain, the term mother lodge is used to identify the particular Lodge where the individual was first "made a Mason".'Mother lodge' may refer to a lodge which sponsors the creation of a new lodge, the daughter lodge, to be warranted under the jurisdiction of the same grand lodge. Lodge Mother Kilwinning No 0 in the Grand Lodge of Scotland is known as the Mother Lodge of Scotland, having been referred to in the Schaw Statutes of 1598 and 1599, having itself warranted other lodges at a time when it did not subscribe to a grand lodge.
Lodges are governed by national, state or provincial authorities called Grand Lodges or Grand Orients, whose published constitutions define the structure of freemasonry under their authority, which appoint Grand Officers from their senior masons. Provincial Grand Lodges exercise an intermediate authority, appoint Provincial Grand Officers. Different grand lodges and their regions show subtleties of tradition and variation in the degrees and practice. In any case, Grand Lodges have limited jurisdiction over their member Lodges, where there is no prescribed ritual Lodges may thus have considerable freedom of practice. Despite these minor differences, fraternal relations exist between Lodges of corresponding degrees under different Grand Lodges. To be accepted for initiation as a regular Freemason, a candidate must: Be a man who comes of his own free will by his own initiative or by invitation in some jurisdictions. Believe in some kind of Supreme Being. Be of good morals and financially supporting himself and family.
Be at least 21 years old. Live in the jurisdiction Be able to pass interviews and pass the Investigation Committee's inquiries about his past with people who have known him, which can take up to 2 years. Be of sound mind and body.. Be a "Free Man"; this may have arisen from the refusal of operative masons to pass their secr
Buena Vista Colored School
Buena Vista Colored School is a historic school building for African American children located at Buena Vista, Virginia. It was built in 1914, expanded in 1926, it is a brick structure with a hipped, sheet metal roof. On the property is a contributing brick outbuilding once used to store wood and coal; the building served as the only local school for African American children in grades 1–7 from 1914 to 1957. The Buena Vista Colored School Historical Society was organized in 2002 to restore the school as a museum and community center, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. Buena Vista Colored School Historical Society http://buenavistacoloredschool.com/index.html
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was an American and Confederate soldier, best known as a commander of the Confederate States Army. He commanded the Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. A son of Revolutionary War officer Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee III, Lee was a top graduate of the United States Military Academy and an exceptional officer and military engineer in the United States Army for 32 years. During this time, he served throughout the United States, distinguished himself during the Mexican–American War, served as Superintendent of the United States Military Academy; when Virginia declared its secession from the Union in April 1861, Lee chose to follow his home state, despite his desire for the country to remain intact and an offer of a senior Union command. During the first year of the Civil War, Lee served as a senior military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Once he took command of the main field army in 1862 he soon emerged as a shrewd tactician and battlefield commander, winning most of his battles, all against far superior Union armies.
Lee's strategic foresight was more questionable, both of his major offensives into Union territory ended in defeat. Lee's aggressive tactics, which resulted in high casualties at a time when the Confederacy had a shortage of manpower, have come under criticism in recent years. Lee surrendered his entire army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. By this time, Lee had assumed supreme command of the remaining Southern armies. Lee rejected the proposal of a sustained insurgency against the Union and called for reconciliation between the two sides. In 1865, after the war, Lee was paroled and signed an oath of allegiance, asking to have his citizenship of the United States restored. Lee's application was misplaced. In 1865, Lee became president of Washington College in Virginia. Lee accepted "the extinction of slavery" provided for by the Thirteenth Amendment, but publicly opposed racial equality and granting African Americans the right to vote and other political rights. Lee died in 1870.
In 1975, the U. S. Congress posthumously restored Lee's citizenship effective June 13, 1865. Lee opposed the construction of public memorials to Confederate rebellion on the grounds that they would prevent the healing of wounds inflicted during the war. After his death, Lee became an icon used by promoters of "Lost Cause" mythology, who sought to romanticize the Confederate cause and strengthen white supremacy in the South. In the 20th century following the civil rights movement, historians reassessed Lee. Lee, a white Southerner, was born at Stratford Hall Plantation in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Major General Henry Lee III, Governor of Virginia, his second wife, Anne Hill Carter, his birth date has traditionally been recorded as January 19, 1807, but according to the historian Elizabeth Brown Pryor, "Lee's writings indicate he may have been born the previous year."One of Lee's great grandparents, Henry Lee I, was a prominent Virginian colonist of English descent. Lee's family is one of Virginia's first families, descended from Richard Lee I, Esq. "the Immigrant", from the county of Shropshire in England.
Lee's mother grew up at one of the most elegant homes in Virginia. Lee's father, a tobacco planter, suffered severe financial reverses from failed investments. Little is known of Lee as a child. Nothing is known of his relationship with his father who, after leaving his family, mentioned Robert only once in a letter; when given the opportunity to visit his father's Georgia grave, he remained there only briefly. In 1809, Harry Lee was put in debtors prison. In 1811, the family, including the newly born sixth child, moved to a house on Oronoco Street, still close to the center of town and with the houses of a number of Lee relatives close by. In 1812, Harry Lee was badly injured in a political riot in Baltimore and traveled to the West Indies, he would never return. Left to raise six children alone in straitened circumstances, Anne Lee and her family paid extended visits to relatives and family friends. Robert Lee attended school at Eastern View, a school for young gentlemen, in Fauquier County, at the Alexandria Academy, free for local boys, where he showed an aptitude for mathematics.
Although brought up to be a practicing Christian, he was not confirmed in the Episcopal Church until age 46. Anne Lee's family was supported by a relative, William Henry Fitzhugh, who owned the Oronoco Street house and allowed the Lees to stay at his home in Fairfax County, Ravensworth; when Robert was 17 in 1824, Fitzhugh wrote to the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, urging that Robert be given an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Fitzhugh wrote l
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. At the 2010 census, the population was 7,042, it is the county seat of Rockbridge County. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Lexington with Rockbridge County for statistical purposes. Lexington is about 57 miles east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia, it was first settled in 1777. Lexington is the location of the Virginia Military Institute and of Lee University. Lexington was named in 1778, it was the first of what would be many American places named after Lexington, known for being the place at which the first shot was fired in the American Revolution. The Union General David Hunter led a raid on Virginia Military Institute during the American Civil War. Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson are buried here, it is the site of the only house Jackson owned, now open to the public as a museum. Cyrus McCormick invented the horse-drawn mechanical reaper at his family's farm in Rockbridge County, a statue of McCormick is located on the Washington and Lee University campus.
McCormick Farm is a satellite agricultural research center. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles all of, land. The Maury River, a tributary of the James River, forms the city's northeastern boundary; the climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Lexington has a humid subtropical climate, similar to Northern Italy, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps; as of the census of 2000, there were 6,867 people, 2,232 households, 1,080 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,753.8 per square mile. The racial makeup was 86.01% White, 10.38% African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander and 0.48% from other races, 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.1% of the population. There were 2,232 households of which 18.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 51.6% were non-families.
41.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.76. In the city, the population was spread out with 11.0% under the age of 18, 41.4% from 18 to 24, 14.5% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 127.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,982, the median income for a family was $58,529. Males had a median income of $35,288 versus $26,094 for females; the per capita income was $16,497. About 8.4% of families and 21.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 12.0% of those age 65 or over. Today, Lexington's primary economic activities stem from tourism. Located at the intersection of historic U. S. Route 11 and U. S. Route 60 and more modern highways, Interstate 64 and Interstate 81.
With its various connections to the Civil War, Lexington attracts visitors from around the country. Places of interest in Lexington include the Stonewall Jackson House, Lee Chapel, the George C. Marshall Museum, Virginia Military Institute Museum, Museum of Military Memorabilia, the downtown historic district. Hull's Drive In theater attracts visitors to the area and was the first community-owned, non-profit drive-in in the U. S. Lexington contains a host of small retail businesses and breakfast inns, restaurants catering to a unique mixture of local and collegiate clientele; the historic R. E. Lee Hotel, built in the 1920s, underwent extensive renovation and re-opened its doors late 2014. Lexington has been the site for several movies. Parts of at least eight motion pictures have been filmed in the area; the first was Brother Rat, which starred Ronald Reagan. After the movie's release he was made an honorary VMI cadet; the second was the 1958 Mardi Gras, which starred Pat Boone as a VMI cadet and the actress Christine Carère.
The third was Sommersby, starring Bill Pullman, James Earl Jones and Jodie Foster. The Foreign Student, based on a novel of college life by former W&L student Phillipe Labro had scenes made in town. Filming for parts of several Civil War films took place in Lexington, including the documentary Lee Beyond the Battles and Gods and Generals. In Fall 2004, the director Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise filmed scenes for War of the Worlds here, with Dakota Fanning and Tim Robbins. In June 2013, filming took place for a movie titled Field of Lost Shoes about the Battle of New Market starring Luke Benward and Lauren Holly; the city has a number of independent newspapers. The News-Gazette is a weekly community paper; the now-defunct The Rockbridge Weekly, noted for printing police and other local crime reports, was bought by The News-Gazette in June 2012. The Rockbridge Advocate is a monthly news magazine with the motto "Independent as a hog on ice". In 2011, the city erupted in controversy after the City Council passed an ordinance to ban the flying of flags other than the United States flag, the Virginia Flag, an as-yet-undesigned city flag on city light poles.
Various flags of the Confederacy had previous
Maury River
The Maury River is a 42.8-mile-long tributary of the James River in west-central Virginia in the United States. It is part of the watershed of Chesapeake Bay; the Maury flows for its entire length in Rockbridge County. It is formed near Goshen by the confluence of the Calfpasture and Little Calfpasture rivers, flows south past Lexington and Buena Vista; the Maury flows into the James River at Glasgow. The Maury River formed a portion of an all-water route from the Atlantic ports of Virginia to Lexington from the late 18th to the late 19th century carrying passengers, pig iron, agricultural products. Connected to the James River and Kanawha Canal at Glasgow, a series of canals and dams allowed merchant and passenger James River bateaux to travel the shallow, rocky river; the first canal boat reached Lexington in 1860. The era of the canal ended quickly along the river, as the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad and Shenandoah Valley Railroad both built rail lines along major portions of the river which offered faster and easier transportation.
Numerous artifacts remain from the canal days including several dam ruins. The lock at Ben Salem Wayside between Buena Vista and Interstate 81 on U. S. Route 60 is well preserved in a park setting. At least two dams from the canal era remain and impound water, Moomaw's Lock and Dam below the US 60 bridge in Buena Vista, the Lexington Mills Dam at Jordan's Point in Lexington which formed the end of canal boat navigation. Several other lock and dam ruins, some complete dams, are visible along the river from the Chessie Nature Trail; the Gooseneck Dam downstream of Buena Vista is notable for being featured in a photograph by acclaimed 1950s railroad photographer O. Winston Link; the Maury River was called "a branch of the North River" before the name was changed within the past few decades. The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "Maury River" as the stream's name in 1968. According to the Geographic Names Information System, the stream has been known as the "North River" and "Calfpasture River".
It is named in honor of Commodore Matthew Fontaine Maury, it travels past Lexington's Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute, where Commodore Maury worked in his last years. There is a memorial tablet in stone to the commodore at Goshen Pass; the Maury River has a history of destructive floods damaging nearby communities. Notable were floods on October 12, 1870, on the death of Robert E. Lee, when the Maury River provided Lee a temporary coffin due to a dock washed away upriver; the Flood of'69 was the result of rainfall from the inland movement of Hurricane Camille. The Flood of'85 resulted from the convergence of three systems, including Hurricane Juan, which dumped tremendous amounts of rain on western Virginia; the flood of record for the lower Maury River including Buena Vista and Glasgow occurred on August 20, 1969, at a stage of 31.23 feet on the Buena Vista gauge (flooding begins at 17.0 feet and major flooding at 21.0 feet. The downtowns of Buena Vista and Glasgow were submerged in over 5 feet of water.
The upper Maury River including Lexington saw its flood of record during the Flood of 1985 when the gauging station at Rockbridge Baths recorded a value of 19.19 feet from flood marks. The difference in flooding results from differing contributions of the South River depending on rainfall in the respective watersheds; the damage caused by the 1969 flood permanently ended railroad service to Lexington. The tracks of Richmond & Allegany Railroad successor Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad which ran along the bank of the river from its junction with the Norfolk & Western Railroad at Loch Laird to Lexington were destroyed along much of the route. Instead of rebuilding the line to Lexington, the C&O Railroad restored the tracks from Loch Laird through Buena Vista to serve several industrial customers. On September 1, 1970, the Interstate Commerce Commission granted the C&O permission to abandon the remainder of the Lexington branch; the C&O tracks end at Georgia Bonded Fibers below the US 60 bridge over the Maury River.
The remaining rail bed was converted to public use as an early example of rails to trails, becoming the Chessie Nature Trail. The James C. Olin Flood Control Project was completed in 1997 to reduce the potential for damage from flooding of the Maury River and inland streams in Buena Vista; the Chessie Nature Trail parallels the river to form a seven-mile linear park between Buena Vista and Lexington. The rail trail winds through open pastures along the river. Other notable parks along the river include Goshen Pass, Jordan's Point in Lexington, Ben Salem Wayside, Glenn Maury Park in Buena Vista. State-owned public lands along the river include the Goshen and Little North Mountain Wildlife Management Area and the Goshen Pass Natural Area Preserve; the river is enjoyed by residents and visitors through swimming, canoeing and floating downstream in inner tubes. The river is wide and shallow less than three feet deep with occasional deep holes; the upper portion of the river includes class III and IV rapids.
Below Jordan's Point in Lexington, the river is a float trip with Class I and II rapids to the James River at Glasgow. Electric or gasoline-powered boats are used beyond a few areas of slack water upstream of dams. List of Virginia rivers Buffalo Creek Columbia Gazetteer of North America entry DeLorme (
Amherst, Virginia
Amherst is a town in Amherst County, United States. The population was 2,231 at the 2010 census, it is the county seat of Amherst County. Amherst is part of the Lynchburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. Amherst was founded in 1807. Known as "The Oaks" and "Seven Oaks", it began as a mere stagecoach station on the Charlottesville-Lynchburg road. Once Nelson County was separated from Amherst County in 1807, the community became the seat of Amherst County, it was at this time that the village decided to rename itself in honor of French and Indian War hero Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst. Major-General Amherst had been the hero of the Battle of Ticonderoga and served as the governor of the Colony of Virginia from 1763 to 1768. On April 15, 1910, Amherst was incorporated by the order of the Circuit Court. A charter was granted to the town by the General Assembly in 1950; the official town seal was created by a commercial artist from Dayton, Ohio. His original proposal featured the "sleeping giant", but this was rejected since it represented an area outside the town's limits.
According to town legend, while a group was in the Clerk's office in the town hall engaged in conversation on the topics of the day, looking eastward along E. Court Street, it was suggested that the Amherst courthouse be used as a model for the official seal. During that era, a large letter "A" was attached to a radio antenna tower beside the telephone company building, adjacent to the courthouse; this internally illuminated. Six months Cruea returned to the town and delivered a framed original of a proposed seal, his proposal incorporated the "A" and the town's date of incorporation. Cruea's proposal became Amherst's official seal; the original seal is located on the wall of the town council chambers. One of the main landmarks of Amherst is the roundabout located at the intersection of Main Street and U. S. Route 60. "The Circle," as it is affectionately referred to by Amherst residents, is the oldest traffic circle in the VDOT system. The fountain and the landscaping at the circle were installed and are maintained by the Village Garden Club.
Another landmark of Amherst is the Amherst County courthouse. An original courthouse was built in 1809 but was torn down in 1872, the current courthouse was built shortly thereafter. All Amherst County records have been stored in the courthouse since 1761 when Amherst‑Nelson counties were divided from Albemarle County. Other important sites located in or near the town include the Bear Mountain Indian Mission School, Edgewood, 1818, Edgewood, 1858, Forest Hill, The Glebe, Dulwich Manor, Tusculum; these places are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Amherst is located at 37°34′37″N 79°3′2″W. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.0 square miles, all of it land. Amherst is 25 miles southeast of Lexington, 44 miles southwest from Charlottesville, 20 miles northwest from Appomattox, only 13 miles north of Lynchburg; as of the census of 2000, there were 2,251 people, 940 households, 568 families residing in the town. The population density was 451.3 people per square mile.
There were 1,000 housing units at an average density of 200.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 68.95% White, 29.63% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.04% from other races, 0.76% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.02% of the population. There were 940 households out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 14.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 39.5% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.7% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.84. In the town, the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, 24.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,000, the median income for a family was $44,181. Males had a median income of $35,714 versus $20,321 for females; the per capita income for the town was $18,457. About 13.3% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 26.5% of those age 65 or over. Amherst has many public schools which provide secondary education to local children. There are opportunities for higher learning. Amherst County School System operates the public education system in Amherst; the Public schools in the Amherst area are: Amherst Elementary School Central Elementary School Amherst Middle School Amherst County High School In addition, Amherst is served by the women's liberal arts college Sweet Briar College. Central Virginia Community College has a small center in Amherst that serves the community in higher education. Amherst has several places of business and commerce that provide products and jobs for the community.
Major employers in and near the town include: Ambriar Shopping Center Mountainview Shopping Center Clorox Buffalo Air Sweet Briar College Hermle Greif Amherst provides services for the town (and in some cases outside the corp
Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the United States. The most intense storm of the 1969 Atlantic hurricane season, Camille formed as a tropical depression on August 14 south of Cuba from a long-tracked tropical wave. Located in a favorable environment for strengthening, the storm intensified into a Category 2 hurricane before striking the western part of Cuba on August 15. Emerging into the Gulf of Mexico, Camille underwent another period of rapid intensification and became a Category 5 hurricane the next day as it moved northward towards the Louisiana–Mississippi region. Despite weakening on August 17, the hurricane re-intensified back to a Category 5 hurricane before it made landfall in Pass Christian, Mississippi early on August 18, at peak intensity, with a minimum pressure of 900 mbar; this was the second-lowest pressure recorded for a US landfall. Only the 1935 Labor Day hurricane had a lower pressure at landfall; as Camille pushed inland, it weakened and was a tropical depression by the time it was over the Ohio Valley.
Once it emerged offshore, Camille was able to restrengthen to a strong tropical storm, before it became extratropical on August 22. Camille was subsequently absorbed by a frontal storm over the North Atlantic on the same day. Camille caused tremendous damage in its wake, produced a peak official storm surge of 24 feet; the hurricane flattened nearly everything along the coast of the US state of Mississippi, caused additional flooding and deaths inland while crossing the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. In total, Camille caused $1.43 billion in damages. In the 1960s, Atlantic hurricane names consisted of women's names which were reused every fourth year; the practice of retiring hurricane names was meant to be temporary, with the guideline that a name be retired for ten years. When'Carla' was retired in 1961 it was replaced on the 1965 list with'Carol', a name retired in 1954 when its namesake devastated New England. Since over a decade had passed, Carol was eligible for reuse. Carol entered the 1969 list, but scientists from the National Hurricane Research Laboratory asked the naming committee in January 1969 to permanently retire Carol and Hazel since papers were still being written about the storms.
The committee needed a replacement ` C' name. John Hope's daughter Camille was involved in an advanced science and math program in high school and had carried out a required independent research project. John Hope asked Dr. Banner Miller to mentor her in her investigation of hurricanes and long-term atmospheric trends. Miller suggested her name for the list. "We kept it quiet for many years", Camille said in a phone interview circa 2014. The origins of Hurricane Camille were from a tropical wave off the western coast of Africa on August 5, 1969, it tracked westward along the 15th parallel north, a tropical disturbance became identifiable on satellite imagery on August 9. By that time, the thunderstorm activity concentrated into a circular area of convection; the next day, it moved through the Lesser Antilles, although there was no evidence of a closed circulation. On August 13, the wave passed near or over the southern coast of Jamaica as its convection spread northeastward through the Bahamas.
Subsequently, it began a slower motion to the northwest. It is believed that a tropical depression formed shortly thereafter, early on August 14, it became a tropical storm a few hours later. On the morning of August 14, the Hurricane Hunters flew to investigate for a closed circulation near the Bahamas and near the Cayman Islands; the crew observed a developing center in the western Caribbean, winds had reached tropical storm status. By the storm had strengthened into a strong tropical storm with winds of 60 mph, about 50 miles west-northwest of Grand Cayman. Upon first being classified as a tropical storm, Camille was located in an area favorable for further strengthening, although it intensified, it was located within an area of light wind shear and an overall warm environment. Additionally, the storm developed strong low-level inflow from the deep southern Caribbean, which continuously brought moisture into the storm. Throughout its duration, it was a small tropical cyclone, although with a radius of gale-force winds spreading 100 miles to the north, the storm's thunderstorm area spread over Cuba.
As the storm approached the western coast of Cuba, it began rapid deepening, reaching hurricane status and less than 12 hours attained winds of 110 mph. Prior to landfall, its eye was tracked by radar from Havana. Camille was a small hurricane as it crossed western Cuba, its winds decreased to 105 mph over land before it emerged into the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane Camille was forecast to turn northeastward toward the Florida panhandle. Instead, it continued northwestward and intensified after leaving Cuba, its eye contracted to a diameter of less than 8 miles, strong rainbands developed around the entire hurricane. Due to the small eye, Hurricane Hunters at first had difficulties in determining the strength. At the time, it was not expected to intensify further. However, a subsequent Hurricane Hunters flight early on August 17 recorded a pressure of 905 mbar (hPa
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