Welcome to Camp Barkeley, a place that once echoed with the sounds of marching soldiers and rumbling military vehicles. This camp was an important training ground for thousands of troops heading to fight in Europe and the Pacific during World War II.

Named after Private David B. Barkley, Camp Barkeley was one of the largest military training sites in the U.S. at the time. It covered 77,000 acres—about the same size as Washington, D.C. It wasn’t just a camp; it was like a small city. Rows of barracks housed soldiers, massive dining halls fed thousands, and chapels were filled with prayers before deployment. The camp also had a large medical training center, preparing over 12,500 officers for military hospitals worldwide. In addition, it held a German prisoner-of-war camp, and while most POWs worked without trouble, a few tried to escape, causing a stir in town.

Here’s a fun fact: The camp was named after Private David B. Barkley, a World War I hero, but someone accidentally added an extra “e” to his last name—and the mistake stuck!

Today, nature has reclaimed the land, but Camp Barkeley’s impact lives on. Without it, Abilene’s Dyess Air Force Base might never have been built.

As you leave, picture the marching soldiers and the distant sounds of military drills. Now, let’s go even further back in time to when Buffalo Gap was a thriving frontier town.