World War II POW Camp

Front: German prisoners of war were held in a camp on this site from September 1943 to the spring of 1946. This camp, one of 21 in S.C., was a sub-camp of Fort Jackson, in Columbia. 250 prisoners captured in North Africa were the first held here; later arrivals were captured in Italy and France. The camp averaged about 250 prisoners at any time. POWs lived in tents with wooden floors or in wooden barracks. Reverse: The Hampton Armory across Hoover Street was headquarters for the U.S. Army officers in charge. POWs worked 8-10 hours a day, harvesting peanuts, cutting pulpwood or lumber, or at the Plywoods-Plastics Corporation. They were paid 25 to 80 cents a day in scrip, which they spent at the camp store. When not working prisoners often tended small flower or vegetable gardens, or put on Sunday concerts.