Camp Reynolds
Pymatuning Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Site of a 3300-acre U.S. Army facility, 1942-45. Originally the Shenango Personnel Replacement Depot; renamed 1943. During World War II about a million troops passed through here; most were headed for Europe. A peak of 75,000 were housed here at one time; racial unrest flared up, July 1943. Here also were over 1800 German prisoners of war, 1944-46. After 1946 this became a scene of major civilian development.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
From 1942 to 1945 this 3,300-acre tract in Mercer County was a vast U.S. Army staging base — first the Shenango Personnel Replacement Depot, renamed Camp Reynolds in 1943 — through which roughly a million soldiers passed on their way to the war, most bound for Europe. At its peak 75,000 troops were housed here at once, and racial tensions among them boiled over in July 1943. The camp also held more than 1,800 German prisoners of war.
Why it matters
Camp Reynolds captures the enormous logistical machinery of America's World War II mobilization — and the unresolved racial injustice a segregated army carried with it even as it fought fascism abroad.
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Related events
- · World War II
Themes & tags
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