This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Shafter Kiwanis hears of local German POW camp history
Stan Wilson, Shafter Depot Museum curator, describes Shafter’s German prisoner of war camp from 1944 to 1946 located at Shafter Avenue and Los Angeles Avenue. Dan Brown led the 16 California camps under Camp Cook in Santa Maria, housing 600 of 8,700 state prisoners. Prisoners worked on farms, harvesting about 60,000 pounds of cotton daily. locals could speak German, with visits and occasional treats. No escapes, discipline steady, some rebels over cotton quotas. The Kiwanis meeting notes Spencer Stallings among locals. museum presents photos and literature.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Stan Wilson
Shafter Depot Museum
Shafter Kiwanis Club
Shafter
Shafter Avenue
Los Angeles Avenue
Dan Brown
California
Santa Maria
Shafter Camp
Shafter Depot
Spencer Stallings