Near Taylor Ave. and Poplar Level Rd. stood the headquarters of Camp Zachary Taylor, a World War I training camp named for President Zachary Taylor that became one of 16 national army camps in the U.S. Begun in June 1917 and built in 90 days on 2,730 acres, the camp contained some 1,700 buildings and housed over 40,000 troops. The first troops arrived in Sept. 1917, and more than 125,000 men were trained there. In 1918, the influenza epidemic struck Camp Taylor, killing hundreds of soldiers and hospitalizing thousands of others. By mid-1918 most of the troops were gone, the camp officially closed in 1920, and the land was auctioned off in 1,500 parcels by May 12, 1921.