Liberty in Liberty County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Camp Liberty

World War II German Prisoner of War Camp

— Liberty County Historic Landmark —

Camp Liberty Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By James Hulse, September 22, 2022

1. Camp Liberty Marker

Inscription. In 1943 Liberty County Agricultural Agent Gordon Hart and a rice farm labor committee consisting of J.M. Rich, Jimmy Trousdale, M. E. Peterson, Pat Boyt and J.F. Clark negotiated an agreement with the U.S. Army to deliver German prisoners of war, members of Rommel's Afrika Korps, to Liberty. Because of the mobilization of men for the war effort, labor shortages in the United States caused important crops to lie fallow and rot in the fields: Up to 800 prisoners were housed at the Trinity Valley Exposition during the peak of the rice harvest in 1943 under local contracts with the area farmers. Prisoners were paid $2.15 a day and allowed to keep 80-cents for use at the camp PX and the remainder went to the federal treasury. Liberty citizens and farmers interacted with the prisoners by dining at the camp and attending skits and performances including a Christmas show.

After the war ended in 1945, 100,000 German prisoners in Texas were repatriated and the Liberty Camp left the Trinity Valley Exposition with improved grounds and a cash surplus. Citizens of Liberty County considered the camp a success for agricultural interests and both the Germans and the locals came to know and respect each.

Erected 2016 by Liberty County Historical Commission.

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these topic lists: Agriculture • War, World II. A significant historical year for this entry is 1943.

Location. 30° 2.745′ N, 94° 46.628′ W. Marker is in Liberty, Texas, in Liberty County. Marker is on Wallisville Road (Farm to Market Road 563) one mile south of Santa Anna Avenue (U.S. 90), on the right when traveling south. The marker is located at the eastern gate to the Trinity Valley Exposition. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 321 Wallisville Road, Liberty TX 77575, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Trinity Valley Exposition (here, next to this marker); Mexican Hill (approx. 1.2 miles away); Liberty County (approx. 1.2 miles away); The Ruth Canfield Park (approx. 1.3 miles away); Plaza de Mercado (approx. 1.4 miles away); Liberty Masonic Lodge No. 48, A.F. & A.M. (approx. 1.4 miles away); Edward Thomas Branch (approx. 1.4 miles away); Sam Houston in Liberty County (approx. 1.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Liberty.

Also see . . .
1. Liberty, TX (Liberty County). Texas State Historical Association

During World War II, a camp for German prisoners of war operated at the Liberty fairgrounds. The county fair,
Photographed By James Hulse, September 22, 2022

2. The Camp Liberty Marker is the right marker of the two markers
first held in 1909, moved to its Wallisville Road grounds in 1930 and with the support of Chambers County became the Trinity Valley Exposition in 1939. Highway 146, which provides a route from East Texas to Baytown and the Texas City-Galveston area, was completed in 1950. In that year a veneer mill, a cannery, a commercial printing plant, and an ice plant contributed to the economy, and a local farmer grew orchids. The population rose to 4,161 in 1950, 5,591 in 1970, and 7,733 in 1990, when the town had 213 businesses. By 2000 there were 8,033 residents and 526 businesses. In the 1960s the Central International Corporation air-milled ingredients for insecticides, and in the 1970s the offices of seventy oil firms were located in the city. The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center opened in 1977, and the Geraldine D. Humphreys Cultural Center was open from 1969 to 1984. The nearby home of Governor M. Price Daniel, Sr., built in 1984, is based on the original plans for the Governor's Mansion in Austin.

(Submitted on September 23, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

2. German Prisoners of War. Texas State Historical Association

The main camps were generally built to standard specifications: they were military barracks covered by tar paper or corrugated sheet iron; inside
Photographed By James Hulse, September 22, 2022

3. The view of the Camp Liberty Marker from the highway
were rows of cots and footlockers. A potbellied stove sat in the center aisle. Each camp held an average of 3,000 to 4,000 prisoners. In fact, the only real differences between these POW camps and any normal army training installation were the watchtowers located along a double barbed-wire fence, floodlights, and, at some camps, dog patrols. Guards were kept to a minimum number and were usually GIs who, for reasons of health, lack of training, or psychological makeup, were not needed overseas. The actual discipline among the prisoners was rigidly enforced by German officers and sergeants themselves. However uncomfortable, the POW camps were sometimes considered too good for the captive Germans, and many a Texas community called its local camp the "Fritz Ritz."

(Submitted on September 23, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 23, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 22, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 257 times since then and 57 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 23, 2022, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.