World War II Prisoner of War Camp at McLean

Prisoners came by train and then walked about two and a half miles from McLean's main street to the compounds. When the war ended the camp was declared surplus and auctioned; some buildings were torn down for materials, others were moved, and the land went back to local farmers. McLean's airport runway now runs through the old compound. Trees the prisoners planted, ditches and the concrete foundations of the wash and shower areas survive, and the McLean/Alanreed Area Museum on Main Street displays photographs, letters, interviews and souvenirs the prisoners made.

What the plaque says

World War II Prisoner of War Camp at McLean A permanent alien interment camp (prisoner of war camp) in the 8th Service Command was established here during World War II. Construction began in September 1942 and American military personnel and German prisoners began to arrive in July 1943. The site included 25-30 buildings to accommodate the military and civilian personnel required to operate the camp. Three large compounds housed the prisoners of war. Other structures included warehouses, engineering and fire departments, carpenter shop, and water plants. Facilities for the military were comprised of barracks, nurses' and bachelor officers' quarters, officers' club, post exchange and commissary, theater, laundry, and barber shop. A small hospital was shared by the American military and the prisoners of war. The first group of prisoners brought to McLean were members of the famed Afrika Korps commanded by General Erwin Rommel and were captured in North Africa. By October 1944 the camp exceeded its official capacity of 3,000 prisoners. The community was closely involved with the camp, and many local citizens formed lasting friendships with some of the German prisoners. The camp closed in July 1945. (1997)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Devil's Rope and Old Route 66 Museum — 3.4 mi
  Barbed wire and the Texas road in McLean's old brassiere factory: the fence that closed the open range, from the salesmen who sold it to the Panhandle ranches it divided.
• Phillips 66 Station, McLean — 3.6 mi
  A 1929 cottage-style Phillips 66 station on First Street in McLean, the town I-40 went around last and whose Route 66 business district stayed much as it was.
• Tower Station and U-Drop Inn — 16 mi
  Shamrock's 1936 Conoco station and cafe at the corner of Route 66 and US-83, sketched in the dirt with a nail, named by a schoolboy and saved by the town.
• Old Mobeetie Jail Museum — 20 mi
  The 1886 stone jail of the Panhandle's first county seat, the buffalo hunters' Hidetown on Sweetwater Creek that ran the courts for fifteen counties before losing its fort, railroad hopes and county seat.

More markers nearby

• McLean Methodist Church — 3.6 mi
• Old Pakan School — 6.7 mi
• Lela School — 11 mi
• Eldridge Post Office — 13 mi