Country Campus
Country Campus, on State Highway 19 some twelve miles northeast of
Huntsville in northeastern Walker County, was established during World War II. The community was begun in 1942 as a German prisoners of war
camp with a capacity to house 4,800 men. The camp's construction began
on May 12, 1942, and its formal opening was observed on September 18 of
that year. The camp commander was Lt. Col. H. E. Fischer. The camp had
housing and medical facilities, a clothing shop, a barbershop, a
laundry, a bakery, a cafeteria, a commissary, a gymnasium, a guardhouse,
a fire station, and a motor pool. In addition, clubs for both officers
and enlisted personnel were provided. Prisoners held at the camp were
leased as laborers to local farmers. The camp was deactivated on January
25, 1946, and the property was donated by the government to Sam Houston
State Teachers College (later Sam Houston State University) and renamed
the Sam Houston Country Campus. The buildings were adapted to serve as
dormitories, administrative offices, classrooms, and recreational
facilities. Buses shuttled students between the country and main
campuses. A post office was established at the site in 1948, with Mrs.
R. H. Maxwell as postmistress. In 1949 the community reported a
population of 1,000, and by 1952 it reported 500 residents and three
businesses. Its post office closed in 1964, when the town reported 425
residents and one business. By 1968 the population had decreased to 121,
and by 1972 the community reported only sixty inhabitants and no
businesses. In the 1980s some of the old buildings, a golf course, and
pastureland remained at the site. Country Campus in 1990 comprised sixty
residents. TSHA
Origins as a POW Camp:
Construction on the camp began on May 12, 1942,
and it formally opened between September 1942 and April 1943 as one of
the first and largest POW facilities in Texas, with a capacity for up
to 4,800 prisoners. Commanded by Lt. Col. H. E. Fischer, it primarily housed German
soldiers from the Afrika Korps captured in North Africa, who were
treated humanely under Geneva Convention standards, with access to
ample food, recreational activities like soccer and "Hundt Ball," and
work opportunities. Prisoners were leased to local farmers and businesses to alleviate
wartime labor shortages, harvesting crops such as fruit, nuts, rice,
and cotton; they earned $0.80 per day in canteen coupons, while the
camp received $1.50. The facility included comprehensive amenities: barracks, a hospital,
clothing shop, barbershop, laundry, bakery, cafeteria, commissary,
gymnasium, guardhouse, fire station, motor pool, and clubs for officers
and enlisted men. Internal tensions emerged between Nazi and anti-Nazi factions,
culminating in a riot in November 1943 that drew national attention and
led to reforms in U.S. POW camps. In 1944, a re-education program was implemented as "intellectual
diversion" to promote democratic values, featuring lectures, films, and
materials on American history, the Constitution, and the Bill of
Rights, often delivered by army officers and professors from nearby Sam
Houston State Teachers College.
Newsreels of concentration camp atrocities were shown, though some prisoners dismissed them as propaganda.
By 1945, the camp shifted to house and re-educate about 200
Japanese POWs (with materials translated into Japanese), running from
October to December to foster pro-American sentiments before
repatriation.
The camp was deactivated on January 5 or 25, 1946.
Post-War Conversion to Country Campus:
After the war, the federal
government declared the site surplus and transferred it to Sam Houston
State Teachers College (either donated or sold for $1), which renamed
it the Sam Houston Country Campus in 1946. The barracks were repurposed
into apartments and dormitories for
veterans and students, while other buildings became classrooms,
administrative offices, and recreational facilities. A bus service
connected it to the main campus in Huntsville, and it
quickly became Walker County's second-largest population center. A post
office opened in August 1948 under postmistress R. H. Maxwell. The site
also served additional purposes, such as a spring training
camp for minor league affiliates of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago
Cubs, and later included an observatory.
Decline and Population Changes:
At its peak in 1949, Country Campus had a
population of about 1,000 residents and became a thriving community
with educational and residential functions. By 1952, the population dropped to 500 with three businesses.
It
further declined to 425 by 1964, when the post office closed, then
to 121 by 1968, and stabilized at 60 by 1972, a figure that persisted
through the 1990 census. The reduction reflects the gradual phasing out
of its role as a satellite campus and the dispersal of residents.
Current Status and Remnants:
Today, Country Campus is considered a ghost
town or sparsely populated rural area with no businesses reported since
the 1970s. Much of the site is privately owned, including by former Sam
Houston
State alumnus Sam Dominey, who uses it for cattle ranching. Remaining
features include a few dilapidated buildings from the POW and
campus eras, pastureland, and the Country Campus Golf Course (a 9-hole
public course at 3312 State Highway 19, Huntsville, TX 77320). A Texas
Historical Commission marker at the entrance commemorates the site's
role as a POW camp during World War II. Personal accounts from former
guards highlight enduring artifacts, such
as handmade furniture gifted by POWs that became family heirlooms
Texas State Historical Association
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/country-campus-tx
Texas Almanac
https://www.texasalmanac.com/places/country-campus
Texas Escapes
http://www.texasescapes.com/EastTexasTowns/Country-Campus-Texas.htm