Crystal City Family Internment Camp Marker
Former internees attend an onsite interpretation unveiling ceremony at the Crystal City site.
Camp currency given to internees in exchange for camp labor
Aerial view of Crystal City Family Internment Camp circa 1944
Mounted guards patrol barbed wire fences surrounding the camp.
Crystal City Family Internment Camp staff
Japanese internees produce clothing and blankets for use within the camp
One of the nation’s largest enemy alien internment camps, Crystal City held as many as 3,000 Japanese, 1,000 Germans and a small number of Italians. Unlike most camps, it allowed families to join internees. From 1942 to 1948, it was a city behind barbed wire. The site includes building foundations, remnants of the swimming pool, and a monument erected by Japanese Americans in 1985 to mark this little-known story of Texas in World War II.
Free guide brochures are available next door to city hall at the Crystal City Memorial Public Library, 101 E. Dimmit St.
Crystal City Family Internment Camp
- Corner of E. Holland Dr. and 7th Ave., Crystal City, TX
- 830-374-3478
- Visit Website
