Camp Swift is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bastrop County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,943 at the 2020 census. Camp Swift began as a United States Army training base built in 1942. It is named after Major General Eben Swift.

History

The Army signed a $25 million contract in January 1942 to build a training camp on 56,000 acres north of Bastrop, Texas. The contract stipulated the project was to be completed in 108 working days. About 2700 buildings were built during World War II, but none of those remain on the site today. At the end of the war, they were sold or donated, and relocated. The gymnasium was relocated to Whitney, Texas. It is still in use today by the school district.

During World War II, German prisoners of war began arriving and at peak numbered 10,000. At the same time, the camp held 90,000 GIs, making it "one of the largest army training and trans-shipment camps in Texas" according to Krammer.

In December 1942, Sgt Walter Springs was gunned down by a White military police officer following a dispute as Springs was reporting to Camp Swift. Springs was shot in the back, but the case remains largely unsolved to this day. A memorial scholarship in his honor has been active at his alma mater, Regis University, for most of the period since 1952 and has the backing of former NBA All Star Chauncey Billups.

The 10th Mountain Division trained at Camp Swift in 1944. The 2nd Infantry Division trained there mid-1945 to early 1946. The camp also trained nurses under battlefield conditions. The camp trained some 300,000 soldiers before the war ended.

After World War II, most of the land was returned to its former owners. The U.S. government retained 11,700 acres as a military reservation and a smaller parcel for FCI Bastrop.

The Texas Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, the auxiliary of the Air Force, has held its encampment, a one-week, high-intensity simulated military training program for cadet (leaders in training) members in Camp Swift since 2011.

Current Operations

thumb|right|Camp Swift military reservation

The United States Army Corps of Engineers, currently owns Camp Swift, but it is managed by the Texas Military Forces headquartered on Camp Mabry in Austin. It serves as a training center for the National and State Guard, active armed forces, law enforcement, JROTC, and the Civil Air Patrol Texas Wing. The camp is the primary emergency staging area for Central Texas. and the primary site for pre-mobilization training for the Texas Army National Guard.

Beginning in 2007, Camp Swift became home to the 136th Combat Arms Training Regiment and Texas National Guard Training Center of Excellence. The 136th Regiment conducts military occupational specialty qualification courses, Noncommissioned Officer Education System courses, Officer Candidate School, Warrant Officer Candidate School, and other specialty courses.

Camp Swift has educational facilities and classrooms, a gas chamber, an airborne drop zone, rifle and pistol ranges, helicopter landing sites, and a land navigation course. It is about east of Austin and north of Bastrop. Texas State Highway 95 forms the western edge of the community, connecting Bastrop to the south with Elgin to the north.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.65%, is covered by water.<br> 1850–1900 1910<br> 1920 1930 1940<br>

1950 1960 1970<br> 1980 1990 2000<br> 2010

Camp Swift first appeared as a census designated place in the 1990 U.S. census.

!Pop 2010

!

!% 2000

!% 2010

!

|-

|White alone (NH)

|2,459

|2,731

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,476

|51.98%

|42.79%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |31.17%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|398

|657

|style='background: #ffffe6; |457

|8.41%

|10.29%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.75%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|25

|47

|style='background: #ffffe6; |30

|0.53%

|0.74%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.38%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|12

|30

|style='background: #ffffe6; |22

|0.25%

|0.47%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.28%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|2

|7

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|0.04%

|0.11%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|1

|11

|style='background: #ffffe6; |37

|0.02%

|0.17%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.47%

|-

|Multiracial (NH)

|42

|91

|style='background: #ffffe6; |139

|0.89%

|1.43%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.75%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|1,792

|2,809

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,782

|37.88%

|44.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |60.20%

|-

|Total

|4,731

|6,383

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,943

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

As of the 2020 United States census, 7,943 people, 1,444 households, and 1,025 families were residing in the CDP.

As of the 2000 census,

Education

Camp Swift is served by the Bastrop Independent School District. Most residents are zoned to Lost Pines Elementary School, while a small southern section is zoned to Mina Elementary School. All residents are zoned to Bastrop Intermediate School, Bastrop Middle School, and Bastrop High School.

See also

  • Kerr Community Center
  • Texas Military Forces
  • Texas Military Department
  • List of conflicts involving the Texas Military
  • Awards and decorations of the Texas Military
  • List of World War II prisoner-of-war camps in the United States
  • List of census-designated places in Texas

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Notes

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References

  • Camp Swift page on the Texas Military Department website