During World War II, the U.S. military established Prisoners of War branch camps in East Texas at the request of communities seeking federal economic investment and help with local labor shortages. San Augustine, a branch of Camp Fannin in Smith County, was completed in March 1944. The first prisoners, part of Germany's Afrika Korps, arrived in April 1944, and the camp's population peaked at 331. Prisoners worked primarily on forestry projects. The camp remained open longer than any other branch camp in East Texas. After the war, several area branch camps closed and sent their prisoners there, and later to Camp Fannin, before repatriation to Europe. Camp San Augustine closed in April 1946.