Camp Claiborne Louisiana WWII Army Camp

The Current Camp Claiborne

After the war ended in 1945, the Army began work to transition the camp back to civilian use. Today, the area is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Kisatchie National Forest and includes the 26-mile Claiborne Trail system for hiking, walking, and biking.

click for interactive Camp Claiborne area map at Google

The U.S. Air Force has also used portions of Camp Claiborne as bombing and gunnery ranges during various periods of time since WWII. Aircraft from England Air Force Base near Alexandria (now closed) and Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport have used the facility.

To this day, 70 years after the camp's construction and subsequent abandonment after the war, evidence of its existence remains.

Concrete streets and foundations have survived, as well as part of the main gate, and a obvious outline of the street grid of the camp is still visible from satellite photographs (see image to the right).

In 1948, Bishop Charles P. Greco helped secure the land to establish a mission at the corner of Booner Miller and Denny roads in Kolin, according to the diocese. The building placed there was a remodeled barracks from Camp Claiborne.