World War II Prisoner of War Camp, Site of

Included in a land grant awarded in 1824 to Martin Allen, one of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred" colonists, this property has had a long and varied history. In the 1840s Allen's heirs sold most of his land to Albert Clinton Horton, Wharton County planter, Texas revolution veteran, and the state's first lieutenant governor. Horton's heirs sold the property in 1930 to a group of investors who planned to develop the area into a county fairground, and several structures were built on the site. Fair organizer sold the land to the county in 1942. During World War II, over 50,000 German prisoners of war were interned in camps throughout Texas. Camp Swift in Bastrop County operated a number of branch camps along the Texas Coast, and in 1943 Camp Wharton was established at this site. The old county fair buildings were converted for use by the prisoners and U. S. Army, and the prisoners worked as farm laborers throughout Wharton and Colorado counties. (1991)

World War II Prisoner of War Camp, Site of is a historical marker in Wharton, Wharton County, dedicated in 1991. It is one of 44 historical markers documented in Wharton County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 128 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.3261, -96.0911 near Wharton. The nearest cataloged historic site is Bernstein, Moses, House (historic place), about 0.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include Shearith Israel Synagogue, St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Elliott, E. Clyde and Mary, House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5481004917. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.