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Marker Location
- Entrance #5, off US 271
Historical Marker TextCamp
MaxeyRecognizing
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.
1992 |
 |
Camp
Maxey Historical Marker
Photo
courtesy Gerald
Massey, August 2010 |
Texas
National Guard Camp Maxey
Photo
courtesy Gerald
Massey, August 2010 | |
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