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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 the 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 Laky
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 camp involved 77
square miles and trained 40,000
troops at a time. It was the second
largest city in the state. |
