Camp Joseph E. Johnston (2)

Camp Joseph E. Johnston (2) (1909-1939) - A Florida National Guard training camp established in 1909 near Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida. Named Camp Joseph E. Johnston after Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston. Federalized in 1917 and became an Army quartermasters' training camp. Became a National Guard training camp in 1928 and was renamed Camp Clifford R. Foster after the state Adjutant General. Transferred to the U.S. Navy in 1939 and became Jacksonville Naval Air Station. History In May 1908, 13,000 acres were authorized by the Florida state legislature to create a military training camp on Blacks Point, 12 miles southeast of Jacksonville. From 1909 to 1917 the Florida National Guard operated a training camp there. In September 1917 the camp was federalized for World War I and it became a U.S. Army quartermasters' training camp. During World War I, some 27,000 men were encamped here. A total of 405 units were organized, of which 360 special technical units were sent overseas. The cantonment of 825 buildings on the 3,036-acre reservation was closed on 28 Jun 1919, and the training site reverted to the Florida National Guard. The camp was later named Camp Clifford J. R. Foster for General Foster, adjutant general of Florida. In 1939 the land was deeded to the Department of the Navy as a part of a land swap that created Camp Blanding near Starke and the Jacksonville Naval Air Station on the Blacks Point site. Current Status Now Jacksonville Naval Air Station (see separate page). {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida. Maps & Images Lat: 30.22548 Long: 30.22548 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 23' GPS Locations: 30.22548, 30.22548 See Also: Camp Blanding Jacksonville Naval Air Station 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 179. Florida in WWI - Camp Joseph E. Johnston Links: North American Forts - Camp Joseph E. Johnston Visited: No