The entrance for Camp Logan, which was situated where Houston’s Memorial Park is today (public domain photo)
What Houstonians know today as Memorial Park was once the site of an historic World War I military facility.
Camp Logan was one of 16 military camps used for emergency training centers when the U.S. entered the war. The camp served the Army and Ellington Field for the Army Air Service. Over 30,000 soldiers trained at the site. Instructors used explosives and tear gas to simulate battlefield conditions, and soldiers also trained in trench warfare.
On the night of August 23, 1917, a conflict between African-American soldiers and local police turned into a race riot when the soldiers marched into town. The skirmish resulted in the death of three African-American soldiers, four police officers, and 10 local citizens.
After the war in 1919, Camp Logan served as a hospital for wounded soldiers returning home from Europe and was included in the City of Houston’s health care system.
William C. Hogg and his brother Mike, sons of Texas Governor James Stephen Hogg, bought more than 1,000 acres of the former Camp Logan. The brothers sold the land, at their cost, to the city, which in turn designated it as a park and named it Memorial Park to honor the soldiers who trained at the camp. Trees were planted in their honor to resemble a line of soldiers. This area is called Memorial Groves. This section of the park holds the most Camp Logan artifacts, remnants, and World War l memorabilia.
A Texas state historical marker stands in the park where the camp was located.
