Between 1942 and 1946, a prisoner of war camp stood west of Douglas. At first it held nearly two thousand Italian prisoners captured in North Africa, but after Italy's surrender in 1944 they were released and were replaced by German prisoners, whose numbers eventually exceeded three thousand. Covering more than a square mile, the camp included barracks, service buildings, and one of the most substantial hospitals in that part of Wyoming. Prisoners worked in nearby farmers' fields to help relieve a World War II labor shortage, and in doing so they formed close ties with local families. After the war, when the prisoners returned home, some continued corresponding with people they had met there and in the surrounding community. The hospital also served local residents, and the Army carefully required humane treatment under the Geneva Accords in the hope that other nations would follow the example of the United States. In the Officers Club, artwork created by some prisoners still survives as one of the few remaining traces of this important camp.