Details for Site of Camp Howze

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5097004743

Data

Marker Number 4743
Atlas Number 5097004743
Marker Title Site of Camp Howze
Index Entry Camp Howze, Site of
Address FM 1202
City Gainesville
County Cooke
UTM Zone 14
UTM Easting 670595
UTM Northing 3728333
Subject Codes military topics; World War II;
Marker Year 1982
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Marker Location FM 1202, S side, 0.2 mi. W of I-35 frontage road southbound. The site is another one mile west of the marker on FM 1202.
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Text (One mile west) In operation from 1942 to 1946, Camp Howze served as an infantry training facility during World War II. It was named for General Robert Lee Howze (1864-1926), a native Texan whose distinguished career in the United States Army began with his graduation from West Point and included service in France, Puerto Rico, Germany, a South Dakota Indian War and the Philippine Insurrection, 1899-1902. Clifford McMahon of the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce first contacted federal authorities with the idea of establishing a military installation here. Attracted by the community's active endorsement of the plan, the government activated Camp Howze on August 17, 1942, under the command of Colonel John P. Wheeler. In addition to infantry training, the base was also the site of a German prisoner of war camp and an air support command base, now part of the Gainesville Municipal Airport. Services provided for the soldiers included camp exchanges, libraries, chapels, theaters, service clubs and a base newspaper, the "Camp Howze Howitzer." The economic and social impact of Camp Howze on Gainesville was significant and was instrumental in the town's rapid growth and development. (1982)