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National Geographic Show Focuses on Clinton Prisoner of War Camp


Staffer Michael Allard of Mississippi Department of Archives & History, Clinton Mayor Phil Fisher, Mississippi College vice president for administration & government relations Steve Stanford, MC special collections librarian Heather Moore and Clinton Visitor Center Director Marsha Barham are pictured at the Clinton POW camp display.

Clinton’s Prisoner of War camp housed nearly 3,000 German soldiers in the 1940s.  Earning 80 cents per day, the officers built a Mississippi River drainage project, formed a baseball team, and attended worship services.

Situated on what is now Mississippi College property in Hinds County, the World War II POW camp fascinates historians. Artifacts, including the prisoners’ photographs and paintings, have been displayed for a decade at the Clinton Visitor Center.

Rare artifacts on the site recently came to the attention of the popular weekly cable TV show “Diggers” on the National Geographic Channel.

Searching the grounds with metal detectors and other sophisticated equipment, the “Diggers” crew came away impressed. The TV visitors discovered coins, buttons, bottles, a belt buckle, ash trays produced by the German prisoners, bullet casings, cattle tags and much more. The team recently salvaged over 40 artifacts.

The treasure trove of “Diggers” artifacts remains part of the Mississippi College archives on loan to the Clinton Visitor Center. “We are very excited to have it as part of the MC Archives,” says Heather Moore, special collections librarian at the university’s Leland Speed Library.

As Mississippi College celebrates its interwoven history with Clinton, Vice President for Administration and Government Relations Dr. Steve Stanford, believes it fitting that these items be on display at the Center.  “’Mississippi College Celebrates Clinton-Town and Gown since 1826,’ was chosen as our theme for the year. Contributing to the Center’s historical display is one small example of that. Clinton is fortunate to have a place such as the Clinton Visitor’s Center.  Among its many functions, the Center is a rich source of information for both Clinton and for Mississippi College,” says Stanford. Teams from “Diggers” earlier this year visited several historic Mississippi sites, including Vicksburg, with its Civil War battlefields and national cemetery markers attracting millions of tourists.

As the hit show enters its fourth season, viewers will see the “Diggers” story on the Clinton Prisoner of War camp air in mid-September.

Clinton Mayor Phil Fisher is delighted the National Geographic Channel will spotlight his community and its connection to World War II history.

“Not many people know there was a POW camp out there,” Fisher said.

The television program will plug the POW camp that once contained 150 buildings. The site included a mess hall that served up to 250 Germans at one time. Many of the soldiers were in their early 20s. The POWs included German officers with names like Karl Spang, Gustav von Vaerst, Fritz Krause, Erwin Rauch and Otto Richter. The last reunion of the former German prisoners in Clinton was held in the mid-1990s.

The Waterways Experiment Station of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg tasked the German soldiers to build the Mississippi River drainage project adjacent to the camp.

Mayor Fisher believes the TV show will spread the word across the country about the rich history of his hometown – from the Civil War days through World War II. “We need to embrace our history.” Ultimately, it can produce more tourist dollars for the city of more than 22,000 people.

The 790-acre Camp Clinton was among several World War II POW camps around Mississippi. There were other POW camps in the Southeast and other regions of the nation in the 1940s. It cost about $1.5 million to build the Clinton POW camp or more than $8 million at today’s prices. The camp existed from 1942 until 1946. It stayed in the hands of the U.S. government until it was acquired by Mississippi College.

A 1996 Mississippi College graduate, Michael Allard penned his master’s thesis in history at MC on the Clinton POW camp. His research led him to interview former German prisoners via translators. The subject continues to interest Allard, a staffer with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. Clinton POW camp stories by “Clarion-Ledger” writer Carl McIntire decades ago inspired his research.

The “Diggers” discoveries are causing a buzz at the Clinton Visitor Center. “It’s so thrilling to me that it was brought to the Visitors Center,” says director Marsha Barham. “It’s a great addition to our POW artifacts.”

Located off the Natchez Trace Parkway, the center has drawn more than 100,000 people over the past ten years, including 13,146 visitors last year. It’s loaded with information telling the history of Clinton and Mississippi that marks its 200th anniversary in 2017.