Headlines from the Sunday Nov. 1, 1942 edition of The News and Courier read “Housing Problem More Acute Here. Need Gaining Faster Than Accommodations-Homes Projects Pressed”.
The greater Charleston area experienced a housing crisis during the years surrounding World War II. The Charleston Naval Shipyard and the Charleston Shipbuilding and Drydocks Co. were in a continual state of expansion trying to keep up with the needs of the war effort. Providing housing for workers and military personnel was of critical importance and led to a housing boom not only in St. Andrew’s Parish but also in North Charleston.
Fritz P. Hamer discusses this need for housing and its impact on the productivity at the shipyard in his book, Charleston Reborn-A Southern City, Its Navy Yard and World War II. However, in addition to this housing dilemma, there was also another group that needed housing — prisoners of war.
Two prisoner of war camps existed in St. Andrew’s Parish. These camps intrigued the community and add an interesting dimension to the Parish’s history. Very little is documented about these camps. Rare and interesting photographs of the German camp at Colony Drive do exist in the Kronsberg Family Papers 1910-2010 located in the Special Collections at the College of Charleston’s Addlestone Library.
The stories of watching prisoners march from the train back to the camp, seeing the double wired fence and the lights of the camp from bedroom windows, knowing the prisoners were used for picking vegetables on local farms and after the war the locals gathered in what was the dining hall to form a local Supper Club all feed the imagination of St. Andrew’s Parish.
It’s believed that German prisoners of war were housed in the Colony Drive area and the Italians were housed in what is now the Westwood neighborhood. The existence of the camp at Colony Drive is proven in the photographs. The remnants of a chimney from the camp sits on private property along Colony Drive. The Westwood camp has only strong oral documentation.
Many local farmers used these prisoners of war during harvest time. In the Jan. 9, 1946 issue of The News and Courier an article outlined the use of POW farm labor. Arthur W. Bailey was the Charleston county labor assistant under the emergency farm labor program. He would set up a tent on Savannah Highway approximately at the site of the John Wesley Methodist Church where farmers, in need of laborers, would stop and request an allotment of prisoners for the daily work needs.
One of these farmers was G. Philip Higdon. Higdon’s son, Philip, recounted that one of the Italians that came to work on their farm on Savannah Highway near Bees Ferry was named Nick. He became close to the family during his time working for the Higdon’s and the family stayed in touch with him for many years after the war ended.
 
What are your stories about the prisoner of war camps? Contact Donna at westashleybook@gmail.com.

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