Camp Coxcomb

Camp Coxcomb (1942-1944) - A World War II desert training camp established in 1942 near Indio in Riverside County, California. Abandoned in 1944.

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  Camp Coxcomb Marker at Main Entrance Road.

History

Camp Coxcomb was constructed in the spring of 1942 as one of fifteen temporary World War II training camps in the southern California and Arizona desert areas. These training camps formed what was initially known as the Desert Training Center and then as the California-Arizona Maneuver Area after 20 Oct 1943. As the war entered a new phase in 1944, the camps were closed and training was discontinued on 30 Apr 1944.

Temporary facilities constructed on the site include 39 shower buildings, 165 latrines, 284 various pyramided wood tent frames, and a 40,000-gallon wooden elevated storage tank. Deep well pumps provided water for the site.

The camp had seven firing ranges for machine guns and small firearms.

Camp Coxcomb Army Airfield

The U.S. Army built an airfield at Camp Coxcomb to support the training operations. The airfield had a single 4,500' north/south runway located on the west side and adjacent to U.S. Hwy 95 about 13 miles northwest of Indio, California.

Closure

Camp Coxcomb was declared surplus on 16 Mar 1944 and government land was transferred from the War Department to the Department of the Interior. The leased land was returned to the various owners.

Post War

Restricted use of the land continued after the war while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) supervised the cleanup of the hazardous material and the removal of temporary facilities.

Current Status

Camp Coxcomb Marker Text.

Surface remains only, the outline of the camp road structure and the airstrip can be seen from satellite views.

Context

Location: Near Indio, Riverside County,, California.
Lat: 33.914° Long: -115.271° Elevation: 800' Bing, Google, OldMapsOnline, USGS, OHM

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See Also:

• California-Arizona Maneuver Area

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, Page 65.
• Desert Training Center California-Arizona Manuever Area - Interpretive Plan (sic), Draft, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, California Desert District, Riverside California, 1985, 78 pages, Pdf or Pdf.
• Bischoff, Matt, Preparing for Combat Overseas: Patton's Desert Training Center, Lulu.com, 2016, 252 pages..
• Lynch, Kennedy and Wooley, Patton's Desert Training Center, Council on America's Military Past, Fort Myer, 1984, Pdf.

Links:

• Wikipedia - Desert Training Center
• Wikipedia - Camp Coxcomb
• Waymarking - Camp Coxcomb
• California Military Museum - Camp Coxcomb

Fortification ID:

• CA0249 - Camp Coxcomb
• CA0248 - Camp Coxcomb Army Airfield

Related:
Encyclopedia of Historic Forts, California-Arizona Maneuver Area, Desert Training Center,