Camp Barkeley

Camp Barkeley (1941-1945) - A World War II U.S. Army post established in 1941 as an infantry division training post in Taylor County, Texas. Named on 10 Jan 1941 for Private David B. Barkley, who died on a scouting mission at Meuse-Argonne during World War I and who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The Camp was abandoned by the U.S. Army in 1945.

Camp Barkeley Marker

Camp Barkeley History

Camp Barkeley was activated 15 Feb 1941 as an infantry division training post in Taylor County, Texas. Construction actually began on 17 Dec 1940.

The camp became one of the largest training camps of World War II (77, 000 acres) with a peak population of about 60,000 troops. The camp trained infantry divisions, armored division and became a medical replacement training center. The medical administration officer training program graduated about 12,500 medical officers. The camp also functioned as a prisoner of war camp for about 900 German Prisoners of War.

The post was about twice the size of nearby Abilene, Texas, with about 4,000 men housed in WWII Barracks and the remainder in hutments. The post boasted a 2,300 bed hospital, a bakery, four theaters, two service clubs, 15 chapels and 35 post exchanges.

Camp Barkeley was declared surplus on 21 Mar 1945

Current Status

Private property, Taylor County, Texas. A marker is placed at the former entrance to the post on Highway 277.

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Location: Private Property, Taylor County, Texas. Maps & Images Lat: 32.356722 Long: -99.866801 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....'

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 74

Links:

• Texas Handbook On Line - Camp Barkley
• Texas Handbook On Line - David B. Barkley
• Wikipedia - Camp Barkeley

Visited: 16 Nov 2011