Recently, the Limestone County Museum received several items associated with Camp Mexia, a German prisoner of war camp that was constructed three miles west of Mexia. Pictured is a flag used at the camp, which was probably the last flag to fly over the camp during wartime. It is a huge flag made of wool. To get an idea of its size, the flag is displayed on a 3 ft. x 3 ft. table. The flag was passed on to Camp Mexia from other POW camps because their flagpoles were not large enough to support the weight of the flag. The photo below shows Captain Thomas Gleason standing in front of the camp headquarters. Directly behind him is the camp’s large flagpole.

Construction on the POW camp began in the Spring of 1942 and the first prisoners arrived on June 4, 1943. Most of the POWs detained at the camp had served in General Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps, which surrendered in April 1943. At one point the camp housed as many as 5000 POWs and was staffed by at least 750 American officers and servicemen. Because of the shortage of farm labor during the war, some of the POWs were allowed to participate in a program which allowed them to work on local farms. The U.S. government would receive $1.50 per day from the farmers for each prisoner who worked. A portion of that would be placed in an account for the POW to spend in the commissary or for use after the war.

Today, the site of Camp Mexia is home to the Mexia State Supported Living Center, formerly called the Mexia State School. After the property was transferred to the state by the U. S. Government, the Mexia State School opened on April 24, 1946 with the transfer of 48 residents from the Ink’s Lake Branch of the Austin State School. A few of the original structures from the POW camp still remain on the campus. Another item that was donated to the museum was a set of baby furniture that was constructed and hand painted by German POWs for the son of Captain Thomas Gleason who was stationed at the camp. The Germans did this as a way to show their appreciation for how well they had been treated.