Centennial POW Camp
The office/bunkhouse and bunkhouse are both of horizontal saddle-notched log construction with wood shingled gable roofs. Both were built in 1938 and 1939. The office contains an office/living room, kitchen, bunk room, small utility room and a basement under the living room and kitchen. It was originally built with an attached two car garage, but this was converted into a bunk room in 1964. The bunkhouse contains a kitchen, three bunk rooms, living room with stone fireplace, dining room, bathroom and a full basement. A brass plaque in front of the bunkhouse memorializes Robert Fechner, who was National Director of the Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) from 1933 until his death in 1939.
The garage is a rectangular wood-frame building with log siding. It contains two bays, two workrooms, and two small storage rooms. It was built from 1938 to 1940, with a 450 square foot addition to the south end in 1962.
All three contributing structures were built mostly by crews from the Mullen Creek Camp (F-36-W) of the CCC, with some work also being done by Ryan Park Side Camp (F-22-W) crews. The Mullen Creek Camp was at the Centennial Work Center, on the southeast corner along Mullen Creek.
During World War II, the Mullen Creek CCC Camp became the Centennial POW Camp. The Centennial POW Camp opened in July 1945 for German POWs. The Centennial POW Camp was a timber camp. German POWs were paid to work for the Wyoming Timber Company. The workers cut over 2,000,000 feet of timber by mid-November 1945, when the camp closed.
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ Heid, James (September 18, 1993). "NRHP Registration: Centennial Work Center". National Park Service. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
- ^ "Wyoming Places - Branch Camps". places.wyo.gov.
External links
- Bath Row Historic District at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office
- "World War II POW Camps of Wyoming with Author Cheryl O'Brien" on YouTube