Camp Maxey
Paris, Lamar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Recognizing in 1940 that hosting peacetime draftees might revive the county's economy, the city of Paris sent a request for the army to build a training camp here. The local American Legion acquired land options. Delegations from the Chamber of Commerce of Lamar County received initial support, but Congressman Lyndon Johnson moved the planned camp to his district at Bastrop. In response U. S. Senator Tom Connally and army officials ensured a camp for Paris, confirmed in July 1941. The 70,000 acre site was being surveyed when the U. S. entered World War II in December. Camp Maxey, named for C. S. A. General and U. S. Senator Sam Bell Maxey from paris, was activated on July 15, 1942. Its main entrance was "Gate 5" marked by stone portals at this site. Two infantry divisions, the 102nd "Ozark" and 99th "Checkerboard," trained here with the 250th Field Artillery and other army units. A regional hospital and a prisoner of war camp hosting 7,000 Germans were part of the reservation. Local women formed the "Maxey Command" to host dances for the total of 194,800 soldiers stationed here. Area residents housed thousands of dependents and filled 10,300 civilian jobs on base. The camp was closed when the P. O. W. stockade was vacated in early 1946.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When the nation began mobilizing on the eve of World War II, the city of Paris lobbied hard for an army training camp, seeing in peacetime draftees a way to revive the local economy. After a political tug-of-war—Congressman Lyndon Johnson briefly diverted the camp to his own district—Senator Tom Connally secured it for Paris, and Camp Maxey was activated in July 1942 on a 70,000-acre site. Named for Confederate general and U.S. senator Sam Bell Maxey, it trained nearly 195,000 soldiers, housed a hospital and a 7,000-man German POW camp, and filled thousands of civilian jobs before closing in 1946.
Why it matters
Camp Maxey shows how the vast wartime mobilization reshaped small-town America, turning a Texas county into a training ground that funneled tens of thousands of soldiers toward the fronts of World War II.
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Related people
- · Sam Bell Maxey
- · Lyndon Johnson
- · Tom Connally
Related events
- · World War II
Themes & tags
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