Camp Esterbrook is a historical site in the

Medicine Bow National Forest Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

in Albany County of eastern

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

in the United States in the

Laramie Mountains The Laramie Mountains are a range of moderately high peaks on the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in the U.S states of Wyoming and Colorado. The range is the northernmost extension of the line of the ranges along the eastern side of the Rock ...

. Camp Esterbrook was in the

Laramie Peak Laramie Peak Is the highest and most prominent peak in the Laramie Range of Wyoming. With a peak elevation of , it is the only peak in the Laramie Range to exceed an elevation of . It can be seen from great distances from both sides of the Laram ...

area, closest town is the community of

Esterbrook, Wyoming Esterbrook is a village, and the locus of a same-named census-designated place (CDP), in Converse County, Wyoming, United States in the Medicine Bow National Forest. The population was 52 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United St ...

north of the camp. Camp Esterbrook is at about elevation near the Esterbrook Creek. Camp Esterbrook opened in spring 1944 and operated as

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilisin ...

Prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

(POW) camp. Today there are a few remains of the camp.

Civilian Conservation Corps

Esterbrook CCC Camp was one of 15 United States Forest Service Civilian Conservation Corps camps in the state

during the Great Depression. Medicine Bow National Forest had other US Forest Service Civilian Conservation Corps camps: Ryan Park, Forest—at Pole Mountain, Chimney Park, Centennial Work Center,

Arlington Arlington most often refers to: *Arlington, Virginia **Arlington National Cemetery, a United States military cemetery *Arlington, Texas Arlington may also refer to: Places Australia *Arlington light rail station, on the Inner West Light Rail in S ...

Encampment Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

, and French Creek. The worker first lived in tents and them built their own housing. The camp was made up of young unmarried men from the

East Coast of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coast, coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always pla ...

. The camp planted tree, build roads, trails, campgrounds, and US Forest ranger stations. The camp built the Esterbrook fire lookout. When needed the camp also worked as

firefighter A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

s. Many of the Esterbrook CCC Camp projects are still in use today.

Prisoner of war camp

During World War 2, starting in spring 1944

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

s were housed at Camp Esterbrook. Camp Esterbrook prisoners of war were used for timber operations. Prisoner of war labor worked for civilian employers under the military officials and the Department of Agriculture's Extension Service. The camp worked six days a week, with Sunday off. The POW Labor Program benefited the US as there was shortage of labor during the war. About 75 POWs lived at the camp, with about 7 Army guards. Most POWs came from

Camp Douglas (Wyoming) Camp Douglas was an internment camp for Prisoners of War (POW) during World War II, located in the city of Douglas, Wyoming, United States. Between January 1943 and February 1946 in the camp housing first Italian and then German prisoners of war ...

. The local logging companies paid the prisoner labor, now

lumberjack Lumberjack is a mostly North American term for workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees. The term usually refers to loggers in the era before 1945 in the United States, when trees were felled us ...

s, the same as local civilians. The POWs cut timber for

railroad tie A railroad tie, crosstie (American English), railway tie (Canadian English) or railway sleeper ( Australian and British English) is a rectangular support for the rails in railroad tracks. Generally laid perpendicular to the rails, ties trans ...

s`. Evidence can still be found of the camp, including building foundations, wells and latrine pits. At the end of the war the camp closed in January 1946. At first the camp held

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

POWs. In April 1944 the Italians POWs were moved out.

POWs moved in. In April 1944 the Italians were able to volunteer for

Italian Service Units The Italian Service Units or ISUs were military units composed of Italian prisoners of war (POWs) that served with the Allies during World War II against Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan from May 1944 to October 1945. The armed forces of the ...

, this was non-combat duty in special service units of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. To join the Italian Service Unit, each Italians volunteer could sign a pledge to perform any non-combat duty to help the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

against the now common enemy,

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. During World War II, two large POW base camps, (Camp Douglas and Fort Francis E. Warren), and seventeen smaller camps that did agricultural and timber work were located in Wyoming. Other smaller camps in Wyoming were:

Basin, Wyoming Basin is a town in the county seat of Big Horn County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,288 at the 2020 census. The community is located near the center of the Bighorn Basin with the Big Horn River east of the town. Basin's post ...

(sugar beet harvest), Clearmont (sugar beet harvest), Deaver (sugar beet harvest), Dubois (timber camp), Esterbrook (timber camp), Huntley (sugar beet harvest), Lingle (agriculture), Lovell (remodeling the Lovell Armory and Cavalry Barn, and then sugar beet harvest),

Pine Bluffs Pine Bluffs is a town in eastern Laramie County, Wyoming, United States. It is located on the county's border with Nebraska. Pine Bluffs is part of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,129 at the 2010 censu ...

(sugar beet and potato harvest), Powell (sugar beet harvest), Riverton (sugar beet harvest), Torrington (agriculture),

Veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

(agriculture), Wheatland (agriculture),

Ryan Park Camp United States Forest Service Ryan Park campground, site of the historical Ryan Park Camp Ryan Park Camp is a historical site, east of the community of Ryan Park, Wyoming in Carbon County, Wyoming. The camp opened in 1930 as a Civilian Conservati ...

(timber), Centennial POW Camp (timber) and Worland (agriculture).

External links

Esterbrook at Wyoming placesHR Wilderness Camp in Esterbrook Wyoming"World War II POW Camps of Wyoming with Author Cheryl O'Brien" on YouTube

References

{{Converse County, Wyoming Buildings and structures in Albany County, Wyoming 1930 establishments in Wyoming Buildings and structures completed in 1930 1930 in Wyoming

Civilian Conservation Corps

Prisoner of war camp

See also

External links

References