Camp Huntsville, World War II Prisoner of War Camp
Huntsville, Walker County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Camp Huntsville, completed here in 1942, was one of the first prisoner of war (POW) camps built in the U.S. during World War II. Designed to house 3,000 POWs, it had more than 400 buildings, as well as eight branch camps. The first POWs, part of Germany's Afrika Corps, arrived in spring 1943, and by fall the population peaked at 4840. Late in the war the camp became a branch of Camp Hearne (Robertson Co.). In Sept. 1945, Camp Huntsville sent its German POWs to Camp Hearne in preparation for the arrival of Japanese POWs at this site. The camp closed on Jan. 5, 1946, and the government transferred more than 800 acres, including buildings, to Sam Houston State Teachers College for use as a country campus. Texas in World War II - 2006
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Completed in 1942, Camp Huntsville was one of the first prisoner-of-war camps built in the United States during World War II, with more than 400 buildings and room for 3,000 prisoners. The first arrivals were captured members of Germany's Afrika Korps in spring 1943, and the population peaked at 4,840 that fall. Late in the war it prepared to receive Japanese prisoners before closing in January 1946, when its land became a country campus for Sam Houston State Teachers College.
Why it matters
Camp Huntsville shows the vast scale of America's home-front war effort — a sprawling POW city in East Texas that later helped a college grow.
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Related events
- · World War II
Themes & tags
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