Photograph Album Of Fun-Loving Minnesota Teens Mobilized For War At Camp Llano Grande At The Texas-Mexico Border In 1915 - 1916

Publication: Privately printed, 1915-1916, NP

Mostly Faribault County, Minnesota, and Camp Llano Grande, Texas, 1915 - 1916. 9 3/4" x 15," sting tied, full limp leather album. Ninety-eight pages with 370 black and white photographs inserted into corner mounts; six photographs laid in; and the final 19 pages are blank. Most photographs measure 2 1/4" x 3 1/2" to 5 3/8" x 3 3/8" and many are captioned. An interesting album juxtaposing the joy of "teendom" with the adult reality of civil defense. The pictures show a group of recent high school graduates, likely in Winnebago, Minnesota, in late 1915/early 1916 as they frolic. Images show house parties, replete with folks making out and women smoking. Others show them canoeing and playing on railroad tracks. The well-composed images ooze smiles and goofiness, capturing young men and women living for the moment. The fun ended abruptly due to the United State's involvement at its Mexican border. About halfway through the album is a series of 138 photos of Minnesota National Guardsmen at Camp Llano Grande, Texas. At least three of the men who starred in the earlier photos were members of the Minnesota National Guard forced into service by president Wilson on June 18, 1916. There are photographs of them at Fort Snelling, the mobilization camp where they were mustered in on the 30th before leaving for Llano Grande, a 200 acre farm about 5 miles from the Rio Grande near Mercedes, Texas, not far from the Texas A&M Experiment Station at the intersection of FM 1015 and Business 83. When they arrived, Llano Grande contained a railroad depot and little else. The 13,000 national Guardsmen from Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Indiana were assigned sections and quickly built the equivalent of a small town where none had existed previously. "Company areas had to be laid out, ditched for drainage, and brush cleared, temporary latrines dug; incinerators erected; water pipes laid and buried. Nearly everything was under canvas, although platforms were eventually built for the tents, and framed out structures erected for permanent latrines, kitchens and mess halls ... Dust blew and caked everything. Rains, when they came, were usually torrential and swamped everything. Supply shortages were chronic ... While troops were establishing their own regimental areas, a camp-wide telephone system, showers, warehouses, commissary, parade grounds, stock pens, recreational facilities, and firing ranges were being constructed. Remarkably, by the end of August almost everything was completed. The camp was crude, but fully functional. The business of training and border patrols could finally get underway." The next section of the album gives life to Camp Llano Grande with numerous images of the men drilling, taking target practice, working with machine guns, playing baseball and swimming. Other photographs depict camp buildings and tent groupings, a lookout tower, men getting haircuts, etc. There are also a few town views including a spectacular shot of troops marching down the main street of Llano Grande. In a blink the town was gone. It was abandoned in March, 1917, as the United States entered into World War I, and former Llano Grande troops were sent to France. Internet and OCLC searches reveal very few images related to Camp Llano Grande, with the Indiana historical Society holding around 60. As such, this may be the largest photograph collection of Camp Llano Grande, providing a unique visual record of six months of its existence. Album very good with moderate wear at edges; internally tiny or better, a few photos loose and 7 lacking, one leaf detached.

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