GOODBYE TO CAMP JOHNSTON,

                         AND HELLO TO...

(Source of image: Florida State Archives)

In this undated photo, Camp Johnston soldiers pack up after receiving orders to move out.

CLOSING TIME! -- Once hustling & bustling, Camp Johnston quickly became a ghost town toward the end of the World War I.  Johnston's demobilization began during the first week of December 1918.  By the next February, only a few soldiers remained, guarding an empty base.  Within several years, many of the camp's buildings, vehicles, and supplies were offered on the auction block or were used elsewhere in governmental projects.  Some of Johnston's materials ended up, for example,  in the 1920 construction of a veterans hospital at Dawson Springs, Kentucky. 

The federal government gave the State of Florida a great deal of surplus personal property from Johnston.  Much of this was stored in an immense warehouse at the railroad station in the nearby community of Yukon.  On June 22, 1921, unfortunately, a monster fire destroyed the warehouse, and authorities were never able to determine the blaze's origins.

Camp Johnston's real estate was either sold for a song or was transferred to the State of Florida for use by the National Guard.  Old army buildings housed the Guardsmen in a base that was renamed Camp J. Clifford R. Foster.  By 1925, only bats and owls occupied the structures, except for the yearly National Guard encampment.   

SCHEMES & DREAMS -- In 1920 & '21, developers made big plans for a portion of the former army property:  Why not establish a new Florida Hollywood for moviemakers?  Just several years before, Jacksonville had lost its importance as "The World's Winter Film Capital."  Perhaps a production center could regain the River City's cinematic glory.  The facilities were to include sets that consisted of ghetto streets, a wild west town, a Chinatown, and a country village.  Construction started, and producers also shot a silent flick, "When a Man Deceives," in the Johnston area.  Nevertheless, the movie colony project on the Westside eventually collapsed. 

Other schemes centered on residential subdivisions called Camp Johnston Park and Casa Linden Colony.  These did result in the construction of some houses. 

In spite of the slow growth initally of the old Camp Johnston grounds, the locale did reverberate with the sound of auto engines during the Twenties & Thirties.  Well remembered is a weekly event there, the Sunday afternoon car races, which drew numerous spectators.

PENNILESS -- Activity-wise, the old Camp Johnston site made a big comeback during the Great Depression.  PLEASE CLICK HERE for how Camp Foster gave a second chance to homeless men. 

THE NAVY DROPS ANCHOR -- During World War II, the US military once again moved into the old Camp Johnston/Camp Foster area.  Naval Air Station Jacksonville operated as one of the nation's largest encampments.  The immense complex still helps to defend America.  PLEASE CLICK HERE for more!

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