Camp Zachary Taylor
Camp Zachary Taylor, named for Louisville resident and American President Zachary Taylor, was a World War I training camp built in 1917 to prepare the United States’ young men for World War I. It was the largest of 16 such camps in the United States.
The camp, employing 10,000 workers, was built in only 90 days. Because there weren’t enough local tradesmen, workers were shipped in by train from places such as Chattanooga, Tenn. and Indianapolis, Ind. Uncle Sam paid to put up some of the men at the old Galt House at First and Main streets. Others were put up in tents on the job site until the first barracks were completed.
Camp Zachary Taylor contained 2,000+ buildings that housed 47,500 troops. It was built on rolling farm land mostly between what is now Poplar Level Road and Preston Highway, and Eastern Parkway to Durrett Lane. The Headquarter’s Buildings were located at Taylor Avenue and Poplar Level Road just north of the Watterson Expressway. They were across from the present grounds of Camp Taylor Memorial Park at Taylor Avenue and Redwood Drive. The first troops arrived in September of 1917.
In 1918, an influenza outbreak at the camp killed 824 soldiers and put 13,000 in the hospital. There were around 400 deaths in the rest of the city. A hospital complex sprang up on a 53 acre site along Durrett Lane, just east of Preston Street. Approximately 125,000 troops were trained at the camp before it was closed in 1920 after the end of World War I.
The camp was auctioned off as 1,500 different parcels of land in 1921 and became the Camp Taylor area of Louisville. Many of these parcels were bought by the soldiers returning to the area after completing their term of service.
Camp Zachary Taylor Souvenir Book
For many other photos go > here
The camp, employing 10,000 workers, was built in only 90 days. Because there weren’t enough local tradesmen, workers were shipped in by train from places such as Chattanooga, Tenn. and Indianapolis, Ind. Uncle Sam paid to put up some of the men at the old Galt House at First and Main streets. Others were put up in tents on the job site until the first barracks were completed.
Camp Zachary Taylor contained 2,000+ buildings that housed 47,500 troops. It was built on rolling farm land mostly between what is now Poplar Level Road and Preston Highway, and Eastern Parkway to Durrett Lane. The Headquarter’s Buildings were located at Taylor Avenue and Poplar Level Road just north of the Watterson Expressway. They were across from the present grounds of Camp Taylor Memorial Park at Taylor Avenue and Redwood Drive. The first troops arrived in September of 1917.
In 1918, an influenza outbreak at the camp killed 824 soldiers and put 13,000 in the hospital. There were around 400 deaths in the rest of the city. A hospital complex sprang up on a 53 acre site along Durrett Lane, just east of Preston Street. Approximately 125,000 troops were trained at the camp before it was closed in 1920 after the end of World War I.
The camp was auctioned off as 1,500 different parcels of land in 1921 and became the Camp Taylor area of Louisville. Many of these parcels were bought by the soldiers returning to the area after completing their term of service.
Camp Zachary Taylor Souvenir Book
For many other photos go > here
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