Camp Bowie

Not to be confused with Fort Bowie.
Camp Bowie

Camp Bowie Armory
Nickname(s): Camp Bowie Training Facility
Camp Bowie

Location within the state of Texas

Coordinates: 31°39′29.3″N 98°57′25.6″W / 31.658139°N 98.957111°W / 31.658139; -98.957111Coordinates: 31°39′29.3″N 98°57′25.6″W / 31.658139°N 98.957111°W / 31.658139; -98.957111
Country United States
State Texas
County Brown
Area
 • Total 9,297 acres (3,762 ha)
Elevation 1,458 ft (444 m)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 76801
Area code(s) 325
Army Engineer Company training at Camp Bowie.

Camp Bowie is a United States National Guard training center located in west central Texas on the southern outskirts of Brownwood.

History

Camp Bowie, named in honor of the Texas patriot James Bowie, was a military training facility during World War II, and was the third camp in Texas to be so named. From 1940-1946 it grew to be one of the largest training centers in Texas.

In 1940, the war situation in Europe caused the United States Congress to determine that it was time to strengthen the defense system. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was handed the power to mobilize the National Guard units. The 36th Division of the Texas National Guard unit arrived at Camp Bowie, located then in Fort Worth, in mid-December for their year's training, but before training was finished, war had been declared.

On September 19, 1940, the War Department announced that a camp would be built at Brownwood. Work began at the campsite on September 27, 1940. The Camp was the first major defense project in the state and there was no scarcity of labor when the building work began.

In 1943, the first German prisoners of war arrived; many were members of Erwin Rommel's once proud Afrika Corps.[1] The 2,700 men that settled in were well-behaved and became day-laborers for the farms in central Texas.

On August 1, 1946 the War Department notified Texas members of Congress that the Camp had been declared "surplus". The Civilian War Assets Administration was to take charge and began the distribution of the land and buildings.

Camp Bowie suffered a large grass fire in July, 2008, where several hundred acres of dry grassy areas of the facility were burned.

Camp Bowie remains an active military training station and recently completed construction of new facilities including a firing range and several ammunition storage bunkers.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Krammer, Arnold (1979). Nazi Prisoners of War in America. New York: Stein and Day. pp. 43–44,207,260. ISBN 0812825713.

External links

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