Camp Maxey facts for kids

Camp Maxey is a Texas Army National Guard training facility that was originally built as a U.S. Army infantry-training camp during World War II. It was occupied from July 1942 to early 1946 in Lamar County, Texas. Its main entrance was located nine miles north of Paris, Texas. Planning for the 70,000-acre military post began in 1940, soon after the National Military Draft was ordered; the planning accelerated in 1941 shortly before the United States entered World War II in December 1941.

On 1 May 1941, an engineering contract to design a $22,800,000 military camp in northwest Lamar County was awarded to a Dallas firm. On 20 January 1942, Congressman Patman announced that groundbreaking for the camp was imminent. Construction of the camp started on 27 February 1942, and on 2 April 1942, the Army issued General Orders No. 17, which included the name of the military reservation. The facility near Paris, Texas was named Camp Maxey in honor of Confederate Brigadier General Samuel Bell Maxey. The first US Army personnel to manage the new reservation arrived on 4 July 1942. The post was activated by the US Army on 15 July 1942, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Callie H. Palmer.