Camp Maxey
Camp Maxey was a World War II infantry training camp named in honor of Samuel Bell Maxey.
Located just north of Paris, Texas, it opened on July 15, 1942 under the command of Colonel C.H. Palmer. The first division to be trained at the camp was the 102nd Infantry Division, which was activated on September 15, 1942. The 793rd Military Police Battalion was activated at Camp Maxey on December 26, 1942. The Battalion stayed at Camp Maxey until February 1944, when they departed for Scotland to train for the invasion of France.
The camp was placed on inactive status on October 1, 1945, and is now part of the Camp Maxey Texas Army National Guard training facility. Camp Maxey Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG) training facility eight miles north of Paris, is located in north-central Lamar County, Texas. The installation serves as a training center for the Texas National Guard, and most of the original buildings were demolished or sold and removed; in 1990 the camp sewage-treatment plant was used by the city of Paris. The current base consist of approximately 6,650 acres. Many upgrades have been completed over the last decade to include upgraded ranges and troop housing facilities, which occurred during the War on Terror era.
After WWII there were a number of other commanders of Camp Maxey, including LTC Wisely, MAJ Todd Lehenbauer (2007-2013) and MAJ Mike Ford (current commander). The base falls under the command of the Texas Army National Guards, Training Centers Command located at Camp Mabry, Austin, Texas. The camps responsibility is to provide training facilities to units in Northeast Texas region from DFW to Marshall to Texarkana. This area involves various types of units, i.e. Infantry, Engineer and other support units.
Most of Camp Maxey is centered around the Pat Mayse Lake Project, a popular recreational facility with activities such as swimming, boating, fishing, and camping. When Pat Mayse Lake was constructed, parts of the northern edge of the base were inundated. Pat Mayse Lake is located in the Red River Basin in Lamar County, Texas. The damsite is on Sanders Creek (a tributary of the Red River) approximately one mile south of the town of Chicota, four miles northwest of Powderly and twelve miles north of Paris, Texas. Pat Mayse Lake is a beautiful 6,000 acre lake built and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Surrounded by 15,000 acres of wooded land, it offers excellent campgrounds with 200 sites providing water and electricity. The US Army Corps of Engineers operates four recreational areas at Pat Mayse Reservoir. Facilities in these areas include boat ramps, campsites, restrooms, swimming beaches, and trailer dump stations. Bank access is also available in the reservoir's tailrace area. A large number of personnel frequent the lake yearly.
References
- 1943 News from Camp Maxey
- Information on the 99th Infantry Division
- Globalsecurity.org - about the camp
Coordinates: 33°46′53″N 95°32′39″W / 33.78139°N 95.54417°W