Camp John Hay – the Origin of the Name

John Milton Hay (photo from Wikipedia)

Camp John Hay in Baguio City is perhaps one of the most visited venues in the Philippine summer capital. As Camp John Hay has been standing for more than a century, it has been a witness to events that have shaped American and Philippine History.

But where did the name Camp John Hay come from? During the American occupation of the Philippines in the early 1900’s, then US president Theodore Roosevelt founded an area in Baguio where American soldiers can rest and recuperate. It was named Camp John Hay after the US Secretary of State John Milton Hay, who had served under Presidents Roosevelt and William McKinley.

John Milton Hay was born October 8, 1838 in New Jersey. He grew up in Warsaw, Illinois where he took his primary and secondary education. John Hay moved on to college at Brown University in Rhode Island in 1855. There he developed his liking for literature and poetry. Three years later, John Hay stopped college to return to his hometown, Warsaw to become a student of law.

From there, the legal career of John Hay blossomed, and soon he became affiliated with former US president Abraham Lincoln, serving as his private secretary and playing a crucial role in publishing Lincoln’s memoirs. Eventually, John Hay worked at the Supreme Court of Illinois, became a journalist, until he became a statesman in September 1898.

Though there have been no historical records that John Hay has actually been to the Philippines, he did help negotiate the ending of the Spanish-American War, as well as retain US occupation and development in the country.

At present, when people hear the name John Hay, they immediately think of the famous Camp John Hay, a landmark in Baguio that now serves as a haven for local and foreign tourists.

Among the companies that continue to maintain the area is Camp John Hay Development Corporation, or CJHDC.