In early 1941 there was an article in the Medford Mail Tribune that the Chamber of Commerce had forwarded information to the War Department on potential sites for a training facility in the Medford area. Three months later, in May, the Quartermaster Corps set up an office in Medford to make a preliminary survey for a proposed cantonment in the Antelope area. The area the Army was interested in was the “Agate Desert”, a flat area seven miles east of Medford. The flat topography would be perfect for the buildings and parade grounds the Army would need. The Army wanted to survey and plan the camp in case it should be needed.
Myron Hunt from the Los Angeles firm of Hunt and Chambers was primarily responsible for the design of the camp. Harold I. Wood from the engineering firm of Blackie and Wood designed the site and systems (road ways, waterlines, sewer, phone, electrical and other infrastructure). Hunt and Wood were to proceed with the blueprints so that the plans and specifications could be submitted if and when actual construction was sanctioned. A huge architects office was set up in the Medford Armory with personnel from the two men’s staffs, younger local architects, civilians and members of the Corps of Engineers.
In May 1941 the War Department announced its decision that one of nine new training camps would be Camp White. In November of 1941 the planning was nearing completion. Three days after the engineering office finished the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. War was declared on December 7, 1941 and the camp would be needed. On January 7, 1942 the camp in Medford and another in Corvallis received the go ahead. Actual construction began on February 25, 1942 and the camp was completed on December 14, 1942. The general plan of the camp involved three zones. There was a central building core for services, housing and administration and two huge flanking ranges for field training and maneuvers. The northwest range was the “Beagle Range” and the southwest one was the “Antelope Range”. The building core was a mile wide rectangle, its shape broken only by the addition of the station hospital, an angled portion north of the main headquarters on the west side of Crater Lake Highway which would bisect the building core north to south.
Five firms combined forces and submitted the low bid of $27,500,000. This group was known as CMC and at least three of the firms had worked together on other camps. The building for their use was started in mid January. The camp buildings were simply designed for versatility of use and speed of construction. Trim, exterior siding and other details were uniform to provide a “Camp White” look. Individual work crews specialized in each construction phase. Work proceeded around the clock under huge lights. Traffic on Crater Lake Highway was so heavy it was made one way coming out from Medford with Table Rock Road going the other direction. More than 10,000 workers were involved. Many workers lived in tent cities. Despite the speed, the camp was well built.
On September 15, 1942, the camp was officially dedicated as “Camp George A. White” after the adjutant general of the Oregon National Guard, who had recently died. The scale of Camp White was awesome. It covered seventy-seven square miles, over sixteen times the size of Medford in 1941, four times as big as the present-day city. The population of Camp White, slightly less than 40,000, was more than three times the size of Medford’s population in 1941. It was just a couple hundred shy of the total of all Jackson County. At its height, Camp White was the second largest city in the State of Oregon. Even now, it would have as many people as Ashland, Butte Falls, Central Point, Gold Hill, Phoenix, Rogue River, Shady Cove, and Talent– every incorporated city in Jackson County except Medford-combined!
Soon after the construction of Camp White began, it was announced that the first troops to be trained there would be the 91st Division, designed as a “triangular division.” The triangular division was seen as America’s answer to the German Army’s “Blitzkrieg” strategy. The 91st Division had a distinguished history. Originally activated in 1917 at Fort Lewis, Washington, for service in World War I. During WWII the unit served with distinction and honor throughout the Allies’ Italian campaign, and played an instrumental role in the liberation of the Italian peninsula. In early November 1943 the 91st Division was transferred to Camp Adair, near Corvallis. The 96th Division, the “Deadeyes,” which had been reactivated at Camp Adair on August 15,1941 (the same day the 91st was reactivated at Camp White) moved south to the Agate Desert. The arrival of the 96th began the second major period in Camp White’s history. After six months of training at Camp White, the 96th shipped out, heading for Camp San Luis Obispo and other camps in Southern California. By wars end, the 96th Division would serve with honor in the Pacific Theater.
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Click images to enlarge
Brick buildings of the station hospital are still in use today by the VA SORCC
Troops in training at the old
German Village at Camp White.
1943 Camp White Oregon Map |
