Much of the land around the camp has now been sold to individuals, and a small subdivision exists there now near the old swimming pools. If you look carefully, however, you can still find the foundations of some of the original buildings.
There are not any more of the movie theaters that entertained the many people of Bastrop during the Camp Swift era. Our last theater, the Tower Theater, recently burned down.
There are many more restaurants and businesses now that occupy what was once empty farmland. The old bowling alley has been closed down, as have the Coca-Cola bottling plant, the swimming pool, and the bus station.
On October 29, 1996, Camp Swift was designated as a historically significant site by the Texas Historical Commission during a dedication ceremony for a new state historical marker. The camp, covering about one-fifth the acreage of its glory days, is still used by the National Guard for training and storage purposes. According to Master Sgt. Bob Dashman of the Guard headquarters in Austin, "All NCOs in the Texas National Guard who take classes to be promoted have to go through training at Camp Swift." Along with classrooms for advanced courses, the camp includes a variety of training facilities: a "gas chamber" for gas-mask training, a drop zone for airborne units, helicopter landing sites, pistol and rifle ranges, and space for land navigation testing.
As significant as Camp Swift itself was the relationship between the military and the surrounding community.
"Not only did the families of these small farming communities send their sons and daughters to war, but at the same time they brought the sons and daughters of other families into their homes to assist them as they, too, moved to war in far-off lands," stated Cole Murphy in his application for the historical designation for the camp. "If it hadn't been for all those people going over there (overseas), we might not be here now. I think lots of people forget that. It's important that Camp Swift be around to remind people."
Lately in our small town of Bastrop, we are quickly growing and expanding. Our population is raising higher and higher and we are getting more and more jobs. As we rush into the future we will not forget that our little town has a big past, from Baron de Bastrop, a Texas settler, to Camp Swift itself.
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