Site of Camp Hulen

Site of Camp Hulen. . , Camp Palacios was established on this site in 1925 as the summer training camp for the Texas National Guard's 36th Division, which had formed during World War I as the 36th Infantry. The division, which became the 36th Infantry Division during World War II, trained here each summer 1926-1927 and 1939. , Located on the Turtle and Tres Palacios Bays, the land was donated by Palacios area citizens. More than 6,000 Guardsmen arrived in July 1926 for the first training session. In 1930, the camp was renamed for Major General John A. Hulen (1871-1957). On its 1,200 acres the new camp supported the largest concentration of troops for field training in the United States military, with facilities for several thousand inhabitants., In 1940, the War Department leased Camp Hulen; first to undergo anti-aircraft training were National Guard units from several states. By 1941, the City of Palacios suffered a housing shortage that was elevated by government housing for military families and civilian workers near Camp Hulen. After extensive development, the camp had facilities for 12,000 military personnel. Basic training continued until early 1944, when U.S. Soldiers were removed. German prisoners of war, guarded by a small contingent of U.S. personnel, were housed here from 1943 to 1945., In 1946, the War Department returned Camp Hulen to the National Guard, for whom it had become too small, buildings were slowly, dismantled and sold. In 1965, the property was sold jointly to a group of Palacios citizens and a development company