Camp MacArthur

[1] Shortly after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917, Waco was chosen as a site for a military training camp.

10,700 acres of cotton fields and black land farms were chosen as the site for construction.

[2] The cite was named for Lt. Gen Arthur MacArthur who was a Medal of Honor recipient and fought in two American wars.

[2] The Thirty-Second (Red Arrow) division based at Camp MacArthur participated in combat in France in 1918.

Between 1917 and 1919, 45,074 soldiers were stationed at Camp MacArthur, nearly doubling the town's population and boosting the area's wartime economy.