Memories Of Camp Logan

[CampLogan1917]

Whitesman,

What fabulous 1st hand research on the ruins of Camp Logan you did. I was fascinated by the photos and your words describing your search and adventure along with the topo map, Google Map and your insights about something that existed so long ago.

CampLogan1917

[Whitesman]

Whitesman,

What fabulous 1st hand research on the ruins of Camp Logan you did. I was fascinated by the photos and your words describing your search and adventure along with the topo map, Google Map and your insights about something that existed so long ago.

CampLogan1917

Credit also goes to Mr. Jackson who had his own adventure, locating the structure with excellent pictures, topo map,and his insights on the structure..

According to few people, who know bricks and have looked at some pictures that I took,of the bricks,morter thickness, and the structure , the bricks and this structure are at least 80-100 years old. And indeed ,could have been past the Camp Logan time.

But why build a water tank on the edge of a piece of land that was to be used for a part of a park??

Remember.... 610 and I-10 were not built in 1925, and this section, was a main park of the park and of the Camp, even though the online "Gill" map doesn't include this area.

A couple of different sources say the main camp developed area , which is most of the online map,( ..."Camp site proper was 2000 acres with the Remount Depot"-- From the book "Memorial Park-A Priceless Legacy") was just part of the complete camp area.

The structure could have been made for the National Guard camp that Camp Logan took over, or for Camp Logans Remount Depot. The last picture Mr. Jackson took in his post shows very well the type of bricks of this storage/water tank structure.

Can anyone else, who knows about brick laying, give an approximate date of this water tank/storage building, by looking at the pictures Mr. Jackson took of this structure???

[Whitesman]

The GPS coordinates that my phone reported for this location to be 29.7628N, 95.4584W which I turned into a GoogleEarth satellite map... I'm very curious to the full nature and history of the path that leads down through the middle of this stretch of Memorial Park. While the path clearly goes very close to these old remants of Camp Logan, they don't go close enough to what I'd call a 'driveway' to them nor is the path efficient enough to be considered a maintenance path to the pipeline and telephone pole lines that slice through the very bottom (south) edge of this park land.

.

The road was used for the archery range and right after the archery range is a bigger clearing where a car could turn around and go back up the one lane dirt/crushed shell road. There is one or two picnic tables left from the archery range days and you can find parts, and full arrows all over that area.Parts of the where you stood to shoot the arrows( like the gun shooting practice stalls you see on TV) and the target holders are still in the woods.

There is a pathway that goes in front of the structure , but has been overgrown with brush for many years.

[CampLogan1917]

Credit also goes to Mr. Jackson who had his own adventure, locating the structure with excellent pictures, topo map,and his insights on the structure..

According to few people, who know bricks and have looked at some pictures that I took,of the bricks,morter thickness, and the structure , the bricks and this structure are at least 80-100 years old. And indeed ,could have been past the Camp Logan time.

But why build a water tank on the edge of a piece of land that was to be used for a part of a park??

Remember.... 610 and I-10 were not built in 1925, and this section, was a main park of the park and of the Camp, even though the online "Gill" map doesn't include this area.

A couple of different sources say the main camp developed area , which is most of the online map,( ..."Camp site proper was 2000 acres with the Remount Depot"-- From the book "Memorial Park-A Priceless Legacy") was just part of the complete camp area.

The structure could have been made for the National Guard camp that Camp Logan took over, or for Camp Logans Remount Depot. The last picture Mr. Jackson took in his post shows very well the type of bricks of this storage/water tank structure.

Can anyone else, who knows about brick laying, give an approximate date of this water tank/storage building, by looking at the pictures Mr. Jackson took of this structure???

Whitesman,

Thank you for pointing out that I was remiss in not acknowledging Mr. Kevin Jackson for the wonderful work he did with photos, topo and dialog. This has really become a fascinating search and adventure for a piece of Houston history associated with Camp Logan.

Thank you Mr. Kevin Jackson for all of your contributions to this very interesting thread.

CampLogan1917

[CampLogan1917]

Does anyone have any photos of the Camp Logan mutineers courts martial proceedings, either the 1st or subsequent courts martial, the gallows, and/or photos of the executions, burning of the gallows after the executions and possibly the graves at Fort Sam Houston where the mutineers were buried?

If you do would you consider posting them on this thread for all of us to see?

I'm sure these pictures exist somewhere it's just a question of where and who might have them.

Thank you ahead of time.

CampLogan1917

[Whitesman]

Nice article, . .......I'm still trying to track down a photo of the Camp Logan Historical Marker but no luck so far.

CampLogan1917

This should help.

Edited October 23, 2008 by Whitesman

[CampLogan1917]

This should help.

Whitesman,

Thank you! That's a great photo of the Texas Historical Commission Camp Logan Historical Marker. Where exactly did you find that marker? I looked but I couldn't find it.

Thanks, again.

CampLogan1917

Edited October 24, 2008 by CampLogan1917

[Whitesman]

Whitesman,

Thank you! That's a great photo of the Texas Historical Commission Camp Logan Historical Marker. Where exactly did you find that marker? I looked but it but I couldn't find it.

Thanks, again.

CampLogan1917

The marker is at Arnot and Haskell in a small section between the streets.

[Whitesman]

Whitesman,

Thank you! That's a great photo of the Texas Historical Commission Camp Logan Historical Marker. Where exactly did you find that marker? I looked but it but I couldn't find it.

Thanks, again.

CampLogan1917

CampLogan1917,

I did some extra searching on the riot, and remembered reading, that blacks were called "Buffalo Soldiers", so I Googled "Buffalo Soldier Mutiny" and some good hits came up.

One even has a short film made of the riot, by Mike Kaliski, and you can download the film for about 10 dollars.

"Buffalo Soldier Mutiny"

on the following website:

www dot zipidee dot com

[NenaE]

Interesting research & pictures, has anyone tried looking at the Sanborn Insurance Maps on microfilm? I've found those to be of great help when trying to identify property boundaries & owner names. I forget what year they go back to, though. Microfilms can be found along with other materials at The Texas Room at Julia Ideson Library downtown (has a fantastic staff, always eager to lead you in the right direction). The Clayton Geneaology Library in the Med Center is good, too, for Houston research. Nice to know there is a Camp Logan marker, looks like it's new. That feed/water tower is old, I think it could possibly be from that era. I've always noticed how that area's bayou's have been left natural, they are very thick and winding. (Woodway near 610 loop, I-10 at Chimney Rock) I've always wondered why the HPD horse stables are in that particular location, seems odd to me, next to the freeway, (I know, the frwy came later), skinny long piece of land. Thought they would be closer to the polo horse stables. Perhaps the stables have a history linked to the above topics. Because of working in the industry, I agree with the pipeline statement, most chemical multi-lines are kept clear of brush, they have wide right-of-ways, but there are some (mostly single) lines that are sometimes hard to access. IMO Winter-time in this city is the best time to hunt for hidden structures, with the absence of jungle vegetation.

[Whitesman]

Interesting research & pictures, has anyone tried looking at the Sanborn Insurance Maps on microfilm? I've found those to be of great help when trying to identify property boundaries & owner names. I forget what year they go back to, though. Microfilms can be found along with other materials at The Texas Room at Julia Ideson Library downtown (has a fantastic staff, always eager to lead you in the right direction). The Clayton Geneaology Library in the Med Center is good, too, for Houston research. Nice to know there is a Camp Logan marker, looks like it's new. That feed/water tower is old, I think it could possibly be from that era. I've always noticed how that area's bayou's have been left natural, they are very thick and winding. (Woodway near 610 loop, I-10 at Chimney Rock) I've always wondered why the HPD horse stables are in that particular location, seems odd to me, next to the freeway, (I know, the frwy came later), skinny long piece of land. Thought they would be closer to the polo horse stables. Perhaps the stables have a history linked to the above topics. Because of working in the industry, I agree with the pipeline statement, most chemical multi-lines are kept clear of brush, they have wide right-of-ways, but there are some (mostly single) lines that are sometimes hard to access. IMO Winter-time in this city is the best time to hunt for hidden structures, with the absence of jungle vegetation.

Up until the early 1960's, you could rent a horse to go riding on the trails, through Memorial Park( before mountain bikes were popular), and I believe the stables were taken over by the Police Dept.afterwards, for their horses.

Just a thought on the water/tank building.. if the water tower is newer than the Camp, why would someone have built it,after Camp Logan, in an area that the owner had given the land to the city, that would strickly be used as park area built in 1925??

Whitesman

[CampLogan1917]

Buffalo Soldier Mutiny

[CampLogan1917]

Memorial Park occupies the main acreage of former Camp Logan, where

25,000 men were trained for World War duty. On the evening of August 23,

1917, approximately 100 private and non-commissioned officers of a battalion

of Negro troops mutinied and rioted. They had been stationed near the camp

to guard construction while the training post was being prepared for its white

occupants. Ironically, the outbreak occurred on the very evening the local Cham

ber of Commerce had prepared a watermelon feast and picnic for the Negro

soldiers. Before the insurrection was quelled, 17 people had been killed and 22

others injured. Four Houston police officers were among the dead.

Taken from "Houston, a History and Guide"

Visit This Website

Still looking for and haven't found anymore photos of the "Mutiny of 1917"!

CampLogan1917

[CampLogan1917]

Just FYI! I think I am starting to get the picture, no pun intended, about why I am not seeing many or any pictures of the Camp Logan Mutiny of 1917 I have been asking about i.e. the Camp Logan mutineers courts martial proceedings, either the 1st or subsequent courts martial, the gallows, and/or photos of the executions, burning of the gallows after the executions and possibly the graves at Fort Sam Houston where the mutineers were buried. It's because there are either no photos of the kind that I have been looking for, they are being so closely held by the Army or they are so obscure that they are hard to come by.

I have found the people on this website to be some of the best researches you will find anywhere yet so few or maybe none of those photos have turned up by HAIF contributors. I know that some of those photos exist because I have viewed the video of the PBS special on this topic and have seen some of them.

To carry this a step further many years ago I read a copy of "The Night of Violence" by Robert V. Haynes and I remember even years ago having problems getting my hands on a copy of this book. Finally, I had to get a copy of this book through intra-library loan from the University of Michigan and I was living in LA at the time. Recently, I did a search for this out of print book and found it on Amazon.com used for upwards of $100 per copy which I purchased one. And, to my utter surprise there was not one photo in the entire book about, "The Houston Riot of 1917"! There were only 4 hand drawn maps of routes and related locations of the riot and rioters.

So, once again, I ask members of HAIF to contribute any of the photos of interest I have mentioned if they have them in their possession. Thank you.

CampLogan1917

[Whitesman]

Just FYI! I think I am starting to get the picture, no pun intended, about why I am not seeing many or any pictures of the Camp Logan Mutiny of 1917 I have been asking about i.e. the Camp Logan mutineers courts martial proceedings, either the 1st or subsequent courts martial, the gallows, and/or photos of the executions, burning of the gallows after the executions and possibly the graves at Fort Sam Houston where the mutineers were buried. It's because there are either no photos of the kind that I have been looking for, they are being so closely held by the Army or they are so obscure that they are hard to come by.

I have found the people on this website to be some of the best researches you will find anywhere yet so few or maybe none of those photos have turned up by HAIF contributors. I know that some of those photos exist because I have viewed the video of the PBS special on this topic and have seen some of them.

To carry this a step further many years ago I read a copy of "The Night of Violence" by Robert V. Haynes and I remember even years ago having problems getting my hands on a copy of this book. Finally, I had to get a copy of this book through intra-library loan from the University of Michigan and I was living in LA at the time. Recently, I did a search for this out of print book and found it on Amazon.com used for upwards of $100 per copy which I purchased one. And, to my utter surprise there was not one photo in the entire book about, "The Houston Riot of 1917"! There were only 4 hand drawn maps of routes and related locations of the riot and rioters.

So, once again, I ask members of HAIF to contribute any of the photos of interest I have mentioned if they have them in their possession. Thank you.

CampLogan1917

I also have the "Mutiny" book, and another book about Memorial Park, which has a chapter about the riots, but no pictures, just a map of the march route. I also have been searching and have not found any source or any of the pictures, for this event.

Maybe the guy who made the Buffalo Soldier video, Mike Kaliski ,or the media website who hosted the making of the video, bauhausmedia dot com would know ???

The producer must have found the pictures somewhere, to insert into the video.

[FilioScotia]

Up until the early 1960's, you could rent a horse to go riding on the trails, through Memorial Park( before mountain bikes were popular), and I believe the stables were taken over by the Police Dept.afterwards, for their horses. Just a thought on the water/tank building.. if the water tower is newer than the Camp, why would someone have built it,after Camp Logan, in an area that the owner had given the land to the city, that would strickly be used as park area built in 1925??

I don't think this is a great mystery. For many years in the 40s and 50s, there were at least two public stables and riding academies on Post Oak between what is now Woodway and I-10. The West Loop hadn't been built yet, and Post Oak was THE main north-south thoroughfare along the western edge of Memorial Park.

I remember you could rent horses for long rides on trails that ran through the park in all directions. I also remember you could hire a wagon loaded with hay and a couple of horses to pull it for a "hay ride party". I went on several of those in the mid 50s, and as innocent as they may sound to today's kids, let me tell you that a lot of serious making out and heavy duty groping went on underneath all that hay. Yes kids. Your moms, dads, and grandparents really did do "that sort of thing." As often as we could.

Ahem. Anyway, as I was saying, these recent photos of that trail just west of the west loop looks a lot like any one of those trails I remember riding on horse-back and on hay rides back in the 50s. Judging from the satellite photo, it appears to have been the original route of N. North Post Oak. That shed and water tank were probably left by one of the stable owners. After all, they had to feed and water several dozen horses to stay in business.

Personally, I don't believe there are any physical traces of Camp Logan left to be found. If there were, I think they would have already been found and we wouldn't be here wondering about it.

Edited November 2, 2008 by FilioScotia

[CampLogan1917]

I also have the "Mutiny" book, and another book about Memorial Park, which has a chapter about the riots, but no pictures, just a map of the march route. I also have been searching and have not found any source or any of the pictures, for this event.

Maybe the guy who made the Buffalo Soldier video, Mike Kaliski ,or the media website who hosted the making of the video, bauhausmedia dot com would know ???

The producer must have found the pictures somewhere, to insert into the video.

Whitesman,

Good points you made concerning the "Mutiny" book and the other book about "Memorial Park, with a chapter about the riots, but with no pictures, just a map of the march route." In addition I have the book, "Houston: The Unknown City 1836 -- 1946" which I have posted on this thread without any photos, also.

Your suggestion about Mike Kaliski's video about the Buffalo Soldiers along with bauhausmedia dot, that hosted the making of the video possibly knowing might be a good lead. I will research an email address for either of them and ask them the question directly. We do know there are photos of the milestones surrounding the incident because they are in the video. It's amter of where those photos are and how to access them.

Many of the photos we are looking for are probably in the Houston Public Library Archives but unfortunately I'm in the Middle East right now and can't get there.

Thanks for the thoughts and interest, Whitesman!

CampLogan1917

[NenaE]

Here is a topo map of the same area a few years later:

was looking for the history of Rice Military & ran across this extensive research link from a resident of the West End...notes some of the reference materials used for his research, thought they were good sources to help others, for example, specific year "directories" are priceless. The street name changes are good to know, the reference to Smokeytown is also very intriguing.

link: http://www.ricemilitary.org/documents/history.htm

[FilioScotia]

Anyone know the location or have a picture of where the Camp Logan Drugstore was located at???

I don't have a picture, but I remember where it was. It was on Washington Avenue several blocks east of Westcott. It had been closed for a long time but the building and sign were still there.

Edited November 5, 2008 by FilioScotia

[tmariar]

Anyone know the location or have a picture of where the Camp Logan Drugstore was located at???

You might ask the member who posted here if he found a photo. Sounds like it was a block west of Wabash Antiques.

[CampLogan1917]

Just FYI I changed the name of this thread from, "Camp Logan" to "Camp Logan Riot/Mutiny of 1917" because it is now much more descriptive of the intent of this thread than it was with its old title. There was also some confusion between this thread and the thread titled, "Camp Logan Pictures" which has a totally different intent as I see it.

"Camp Logan Pictures" is just that pictures of Camp Logan and my interest is in raising the consciousness about the Riot or Mutiny that took place surrounding the incident that took place starting at Camp Logan and spreading out onto the streets of Houston.

The real intent is to get the photos that exist but are not readily available during the riot, the rioters, the victims, the courts martial(s), the sentencing, the stockade where the condemned were held, the transportation to the execution site, the execution site, the execution itself, the dead soldiers, graves and location of the graves.

After all there are photos of the execution of the conspirators in the Abraham Lincoln assassination surely there must be photos of this incident and all that I have outlined above. I believe there has been a lid placed over this incident that is keeping the inflammatory photos away from the public eye. The reason I say this is because I have seen a number of the photos I have mentioned but they have been part of private collections and commercial video enterprises.

This incident is something that involved the U.S. government, the U.S. military and a municipality in the State of Texas and it's hard for me to believe that these documents and or photos are not available somewhere to be viewed by U.S. citizens. Again, I would encourage anyone that has photos of any and all the steps I enumerated above to please post them on this thread for all of us to see.

CampLogan1917

[CampLogan1917]

Since I am having such a difficult time coming up with photos of the events surrounding this incident then let me start by painting some "images of the mind" with some of the most grizzly images like the actual execution of the Rioters or Mutineers. The authoritative book on the topic is called, "A NIGHT OF VIOLENCE: The Houston Riot of 1917" by Robert V. Haynes. He starts off the book with the 1st chapter titled, "The Execution" which is just what it says the execution of the 1st round of Rioters and Mutineers that have been found guilty by courts martial at Fort Sam Houston. The book is very hard to find and when you do find a copy of it it is usually in excess of $100 and more than likely $200 or $300 for 1 copy. So, here goes the 1st 7 pages of the book decribing the execution.

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This photograph is from the Library of Congress and it is an Aerial View of Camp Travis which is adjacent to Fort Sam Houston at that time was located on the east side of San Antonio, Texas. The photo is a very good photo that was taken in 1917 just about the time of the executions of the 1st round of Rioters/Mutineers. I'm not familiar enogh with the topography to be able to make out where the executions took place. Maybe there are those out there with more familiarity with the location that could pinpoint the location if indeed it is in this photo.

I don't know how they work and if Sanborn Maps were used in Texas back in 1917 but for those that have access to them it would be interesting to see the Sanborn Maps of Camp Travis, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Logan, and the areas along the route of the Rioters.

Since the large panoramic view did not zoom in large enough to make out the detail I decided to cut up and enlarge the panoramic view so hopefully we can see more and better detail. Here are the three pieces left to right.

Left

Center

Right

Thanks for listening.

CampLogan1917

Edited November 6, 2008 by CampLogan1917

[NenaE]

CampLogan 1917, I don't think the microfilm go back quite that far, but they are old insurance reel records, from 1940's or a little earlier, and you can usually take photo copies off the actual view screens of info. you have found. The films probably show some of the bldgs. that existed from Camp Logan that remained long after the camp was emptied out. Also the librarians are glad to help locate all info. pertaining to your subject, for ex. old maps, reference books, etc. that they have in the Texas room at the Julia Ideson Library.

[CampLogan1917]

CampLogan 1917, I don't think the microfilm go back quite that far, but they are old insurance reel records, from 1940's or a little earlier, and you can usually take photo copies off the actual view screens of info. you have found. The films probably show some of the bldgs. that existed from Camp Logan that remained long after the camp was emptied out. Also the librarians are glad to help locate all info. pertaining to your subject, for ex. old maps, reference books, etc. that they have in the Texas room at the Julia Ideson Library.

NenaE,

The Sanborn Maps are available on line but with the project I'm on at work I can only access New York and Michigan because they require separate passwords. So, it will take someone that has access to the Sanborn Maps for Texas to access the maps for Camp Travis, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Logan and the area outside of Camp Logan where the rioters traveled.

Hopefully someone will post them.

CampLogan1917

[NenaE]

NenaE,

The Sanborn Maps are available on line but with the project I'm on at work I can only access New York and Michigan because they require separate passwords. So, it will take someone that has access to the Sanborn Maps for Texas to access the maps for Camp Travis, Fort Sam Houston, Camp Logan and the area outside of Camp Logan where the rioters traveled.

Hopefully someone will post them.

CampLogan1917

Had no idea they were available online...

[MadMax]

The book cover of, "Houston: The Unknown City 1836-1946" by Marguerite Johnston, Copyright 1991, by Texas A7M University Press. Excepts from Chapter Thirty-Six titled, "Mutiny", pgs. 200-2004 to follow.

I guess I figured it out! Maybe!!

CampLogan1917

This book is amazing. It reads like a textbook....but chapter by chapter has amazing tidbits and information that are just fascinating to read through. Gives you a real understanding of the culture of Houston in its earliest days.

[CampLogan1917]

This book is amazing. It reads like a textbook....but chapter by chapter has amazing tidbits and information that are just fascinating to read through. Gives you a real understanding of the culture of Houston in its earliest days.

I could not agree more, MadMax. Marguerte Johnston did a magnificent job on this book. As a matter of fact she did such a good job that I was hoping she had written a HOUSTON: The Unknown City 1946 - The Present but alas she did not and no one could do it the way she did with her "signature" style.

One of the reasons she did such a good job on this book is because she had unique access to the key families in the drama. The basis of this unique access is that Marguerte Johnston came from that circle of Houston Citizenry which gave her a special and unique perspective for chronicling this story. But, let's not forget that she had a fine writing style, also.

CampLogan1917

[plumber2]

This book is amazing. It reads like a textbook....but chapter by chapter has amazing tidbits and information that are just fascinating to read through. Gives you a real understanding of the culture of Houston in its earliest days.

I actually have that book in my living room. I forgot I had it until I saw the picture of the cover and went over to the bookcase to search for it. I'm going to re-read it tonight.

I agree with FS in that the horse stables offer a more logical reason for existance of the water tank, than Camp Logan does.

And CampLogan1917, you never identified were that photo was taken of the old wooden structure that was part of Camp Logan. My late uncle once showed me a building on Old Katy Rd just north of present I-10 that he claimed was part of Camp Logan, but was moved to that site after the buildings were sold off. It reminded me of this picture, but I could not be sure. It was an ice-house back then when my uncle drove me by it around 1972 or 73. (It would have been right across the street from TXDot)

[CampLogan1917]

I actually have that book in my living room. I forgot I had it until I saw the picture of the cover and went over to the bookcase to search for it. I'm going to re-read it tonight.

I agree with FS in that the horse stables offer a more logical reason for existance of the water tank, than Camp Logan does.

And CampLogan1917, you never identified were that photo was taken of the old wooden structure that was part of Camp Logan. My late uncle once showed me a building on Old Katy Rd just north of present I-10 that he claimed was part of Camp Logan, but was moved to that site after the buildings were sold off. It reminded me of this picture, but I could not be sure. It was an ice-house back then when my uncle drove me by it around 1972 or 73. (It would have been right across the street from TXDot)

plumber2,

I am still trying to identify where that old wooden structure was located. This is the link to the photo and the statement, "The structure in the picture is all that remains from Camp Logan."

Last Structure of Camp Logan.

I do have a couple of old timers I am talking to that I sent that photo to that are trying to ID that building. Admittedly, the posting on this photo and statement dates to "Oct. 3, 2003" but I will continue to research it.

CampLogan 1917

[CampLogan1917]

There were three courts-martial associated with the, "Camp Logan Mutiny and Riot of 1917. They were referred to as the: Nesbit Court Martial (The 1^st court martial) Nov. 1, 1917