Prisoner of War Camp Chapel
Dimmitt, Castro County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(3 mi. W) Near this site during World War II the Hereford Military Reservation and Reception Center, a prisoner of war camp, was established. During nearly three years of operation, approximately 7000 Italian soldiers were imprisoned. Through their work on area farms and such projects as the painting of religious murals in St. Mary's Catholic Church at Umbarger (25 mi. NE), many of the soldiers made lasting friendships with local residents and with American troops at the camp. The center's chapel, constructed by the prisoners, is the only building remaining at the site. (1982)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
During World War II the nearby Hereford Military Reservation and Reception Center held roughly 7,000 Italian prisoners of war over nearly three years. Working on area farms and painting religious murals in a Catholic church at Umbarger, many prisoners forged lasting friendships with local residents and American soldiers. The chapel they built with their own hands is the last structure standing at the site.
Why it matters
It preserves a little-known chapter of the home front, when enemy prisoners and Texas communities discovered shared humanity across the barbed wire.
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Related events
- · World War II
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
P. O. W. Camp Chapel
Dimmitt, TX
During World War II this site held Italian prisoners of war, and among them were skilled artists and craftsmen who designed and built a small chapel, working the concrete so cleverly that it mimics marble. Completed in 1945, it stands as a memorial to the five Italians who died while interned at the camp. Restored between 1987 and 1989, the little chapel is one of the few physical reminders that enemy prisoners once lived and worshiped on the Texas plains.
Prisoner of War Camp Chapel
Hereford, TX
During World War II a prisoner-of-war camp—the Hereford Military Reservation and Reception Center—held roughly 7,000 Italian soldiers, first arriving in 1943 after being captured in the North African campaign. Many of the prisoners formed lasting friendships with local residents and American troops, and after the war some returned to visit or settled in the region. The chapel the prisoners built by hand is the only structure that still stands at the site.
Umbarger
Canyon, TX
Umbarger began in 1895 as a humble wagon yard where a Civil War veteran turned farmer offered rest to travelers on the Texas plains, and it took his name when the Pecos Valley Railroad christened a switch after him in 1898. German-Catholic families gathered by Pius Friemel built St. Mary's Church in 1908, planting Old World faith in the Panhandle. Its most remarkable chapter came during World War II, when Italian prisoners of war held nearby at Hereford adorned the parish church with carved figures and painted interiors that survive to this day.
Harman-Toles Elevator
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Holland E. Toles opened a grain elevator in this Panhandle area in 1926 and was joined by Vernon Harman in 1938, with the partnership continuing after Toles's death. Wartime demand, expanding irrigation, and a federal grain program soon called for larger storage, and construction of this six-unit concrete elevator began in March 1945. The labor came from an unexpected source: some fifty Italian prisoners of war from a camp near Hereford, working under Geneva Convention rules, who finished the job that July.