Just west of this spot along Ocre Ave. on a 10-acre tract stood a World War II prisoner of war camp, one of twenty such labor camps in Alabama, with headquarters at Camp Shelby in Hattisburg, MS. Opened on April 6, 1945 under the command of 1st Lt. Larry Sykes, it had a contingent of 50 soldier guards and support personnel, and the guards were all disabled veterans. A total of 253 German prisoners of war were incarcerated here, many of them members of the Afrika Korps commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox,” who had been captured in North Africa. The camp included prison barracks, a mess hall, bathhouse, recreation hall, and guards housing. Because local men were away serving in the armed forces, labor shortages led to prisoners being contracted out to work for M. W. Smith Lumber Co., Scotch Lumber Co., and other timber-related interests in the area, earning $.80 per day. Many local citizens remembered the prisoners as hard workers, well-mannered, and good-looking men. After Lt. Sykes was transferred and discharged from the service, 1st Lt. Homer Cooper assumed command. The camp officially closed on March 12, 1946, the prisoners were transferred to other camps, and the site is now occupied by commercial structures.