Details

Category: Camp Douglas Officers' Club State Historic SIte

Description:

During World War II, Douglas had the primary prisoner of war (POW) camp for Wyoming. All other POW camps in Wyoming were satellite sites of Douglas. The camp was over a square mile in size, comprised of 180 buildings, which housed up to 2,000 Italian and 3,000 German POWs, and 500 army personnel from the spring of 1943 to the winter of 1946. At the time, the camp was larger than the town of Douglas. The only building standing today is the Officers’ Club, which is now the POW Camp Douglas Officers' Club State Historic Site.

History:

When Camp Douglas closed in 1946 most of the buildings were removed or demolished and the land was sold. A few of the original buildings from 1943 were left in place. If you drive around the west side of Douglas you can see remnants of camp buildings still used as sheds, garages and storage buildings. For several years after the camp closed, the community continued using the camp hospital to treat patients. Interstate 25 now cuts through the camp, while subdivisions, mobile home parks and a new school building have covered much of the original camp.

This building served as the Camp Douglas Officers’ Club and is the only intact camp building in its original location. Following 1946 the building changed hands several times until it was purchased by the International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) in 1963. The Officers’ Club was one of the nicer buildings in the camp. The large kitchen and spacious meeting hall made it ideal for the IOOF. The IOOF took care of the murals and the building for almost 50 years and held a myriad of club functions, dinners and even high school dances in the building. Through the work of the Douglas Historic Preservation Commission and the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office, Camp Douglas was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

In 2012, the IOOF, Douglas Historic Preservation Commission, city of Douglas and Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails worked with the Legislature of the state of Wyoming to designate the Officers’ Club as a state historic site.

For additional information please contact Jenna Thorburn, Site Superintendent at 307-358-9288.