Historical Marker
Camp Chireno, World War II P.O.W. Camp
Historical marker location:
Main St., Chireno, Texas
( Main St (FM 95), south of Loop 34/CR 441)
Marker installed: 2008
During World War II, the Frost Lumber Co. (Nacogdoches) and the Angelina Lumber Co. (Lufkin) requested that the War Manpower Commission (WMC) establish Camp Chireno as a "permanent" branch of Camp Fannin (Smith County). The WMC leased private land and built the 30-acre compount west of here along Camp Road. Located in an area devastated by the January 1944 ice storm, this camp benefited from Chireno's established railroad facilities. The site first received Prisoners of War (POWs) in May 1944. The camp's 300 POWs spent their time cutting and salvaging timber and pulpwood. The camp closed in March 1945, near the end of the war.
Texas in World War II-2008.