Camp Lockett Camp Lockett was a United States Army military base located in Campo , California , east of San Diego , and north of the Mexican border . Camp Lockett has historical connections to the Buffalo Soldiers due to the 10th and 28th Cavalry Regiments having been garrisoned there during World War II . It was named in honor of Colonel James R . Lockett who fought in the Spanish - American War , Philippine Insurrection , and the Punitive Expedition . There was an active preservation effort underway with long term plans of creating the ' Camp Locket Historic District ' in the National Register of Historic Places , which ended due to private property concerns . In 2009 it was designated as a California Historical Landmark , and there are plans to create a county park out of the majority of its former area . History . 19th century . Although travel through the area had been occurring for centuries , with the Diegueño Native Americans having lived there long before European settlement , it wasn ' t until the end of the 1860s and the early 1870s when a permanent Non - Native American settlement was established in the Campo Valley area . The area was settled by people migrating west from Texas , so much so that the area at one time was called " Little Texas " . In 1869 , John Capron established a regular stagecoach run from San Diego , by way of Dulzura and Campo , to Yuma which continued to run until 1912 . As with many places in the American Southwest this immigration brought new interactions between the people living in the area , including the Mexicans who lived not to far to the south . A telegraph line and a stop for the stagecoach was established , and was run by the Larkin family . It brought additional commerce to the area ; however , with commerce came crime . On 4 December 1875 , a gunfight between the denizens of Campo and a group of Mexican bandits , who had earlier killed the former Governor of Baja California Antonio Sosa in a robbery , took place at Gaskill ' s Store . After all was said and done the events of that day led to eight dead and two wounded . Company G of the 1st Cavalry Regiment was sent by order of Major General John Schofield to San Diego to provide armed assistance to the area . Lieutenant Storey commanded a detachment of ten troopers , detaching four troopers to conduct " outpost " duty after shooting himself in the hip , thus providing the first soldiers to be stationed in what would be Camp Lockett . In May 1876 , a large assembly of outlaws assembled in Tecate to attempt to rob the stagecoach station . The Company was sent east to assist under the command of Captain Reuben Bernard , a veteran of the Modoc War ; this dispersed the would - be assailants . In the summer of that same year , a group of Native Americans came north from Mexico and began living off the Larkin Family ' s cattle . Contacting the Alcalde ( mayor ) of Tecate , Pete Larkin was advised to confront the Native Americans . The confrontation became a fight , leading to the death of a Native American . This brought reprisal when the chief of the Native Americans asked for protection from the Alcalde , who subsequently assembled a posse and drove the cattle south of the border . Again the Cavalry came east to assist , which led to the abandoning of the cattle by the posse of the Alcalde and the posse ' s dispersal . This led the increase to the size of those on " outpost " duty to that of a squad . By 1877 the squad ' s duty ended as the 1st Cavalry Regiment was sent north due to the Little Big Horn Campaign , being replaced in San Diego by H Company , 8th Infantry Regiment . Company H was later replaced by Company I of the same Infantry Regiment in 1878 due to the Bannock Campaign . The would remain in San Diego until at least 1898 , however no significant military presence would be seen Campo until 1895 . In that year , about forty Yaqui s were pressed into the Mexican Army , and later mutinied in Ensenada ; in doing so they killed three people including their Captain ' s wife , and began to flee northward to obtain horses to travel back to where they came from . In response the U . S . Army sent ten infantrymen under the command of Lieutenant Hubert to Campo . Although a farm was raided , the infantry ' s presence prevented the group from continuing further into the United States , and they were eventually subdued by Mexican Militia forces south of Jacumba . World War I . In response to the Zimmerman Telegram it was decided that detachments of the 11th Cavalry Regiment would be stationed along the US – Mexico border . In part this was done by stationing Troop E at what would become Camp Lockett in 1918 , named after the 4th Colonel in command of the 11th Cavalry Regiment . Troop E would remain stationed there until August 1920 when they were relocated to the Presidio of Monterey , and replaced by Troop D of the same regiment . Later on in that same year the force at Campo would be reduced to that of a platoon , while the rest of the Troop moved to Camp Lawrence J . Hearn at Palm City , near present day Imperial Beach . Eventually both locations would be abandoned when the Regiment was recombined in Monterey in the 1920s . World War II . First construction phase in 1941 . The first phase of construction , which occurred in 1941 , housed the 11th Cavalry Regiment . Standard Army Quartermaster Corps Series 700 and 800 plans were used for the original camp and included housing areas ( barracks , officers quarters , day room , mess hall , and storehouse ) , stable areas ( stables , blacksmith shops , and hay sheds ) , a veterinary facility , the quartermaster area , motor pool area , hospital ( staff quarters and wards ) , administration buildings , recreation buildings , a chapel , and post exchange . Original infrastructure included roads and streets , a sewage treatment plant , incinerator , and water supply system . Importantly , during this time several buildings from the pre - Army era were converted to military support uses , including the 1885 Gaskill Stone Store . By November 1941 , Camp Lockett housing was ready for occupancy . In 1942 , the Army transferred the 11th Cavalry Regiment to Fort Benning , Georgia and converted it to motorized armor . At Camp Lockett , the 10th Cavalry Regiment replaced the 11th Cavalry Regiment . As war mobilization continued new troopers were organized into the 28th Cavalry Regiment , forming the 4th Cavalry Brigade of the 2nd Cavalry Division . The Western Defense Command ’ s Southern Land Frontier Sector also moved to Camp Lockett at this time . This command consisted primarily of administrative personnel responsible for planning the defense of southern Arizona and California ; they fell under General John L . DeWitt , whom surveyed what would be Camp Lockett in 1940 . Second construction phase of 1942 – 1943 . The expanded presence necessitated a second phase of construction from 1942 to 1943 , which conformed to standard Theater of Operations plans , an even more expedient construction than the mobilization architecture utilized in the first phase . Most of the new construction centered on additional stable and troop housing areas for the 28th Cavalry Regiment one mile north of the original encampment . The 28th area included additional stables , hay sheds , and blacksmith shops . The original veterinary complex was expanded for the 2nd Veterinary Company . Additional troop areas included a regimental headquarters , barracks , mess halls , latrines , and storerooms . Support buildings in the 28th Cavalry area included a post exchange , chapel , motor pool , and fire station . Recreational additions included the swimming pool complex between the 10th and 28th Cavalry areas , additional NCO and Officers ’ Clubs , a gymnasium , and the outdoor amphitheater Merritt Bowl . Civilian housing and single - status dormitories were also constructed . In early 1944 , the 4th Cavalry Brigade was sent to North Africa then disbanded and converted into service units . With their departure from Camp Lockett , the era of the horse soldier ended . Camp Lockett was in stand - by status for several months . Convalescent hospital activated in 1944 . In July 1944 , the Army Service Forces activated the Mitchell Convalescent Hospital at former Camp Lockett . The hospital was the first Army Service Forces convalescent hospital in the United States . To expand the original Camp Lockett hospital , many buildings were moved and converted to hospital wards and other uses . Prisoner of war camp established in 1944 . Concurrent with activation of the convalescent hospital was the establishment of the prisoner of war camp in the 28th Cavalry Regiment area . The POW camp , a branch of the Riverside County Camp Haan , housed Italian and German prisoners of war , who worked in all phases of hospital operation , including services , maintenance , and construction . Base Closure . The convalescent hospital remained active at Camp Lockett until June 1946 , when the facility closed and the installation was declared surplus . Starting in 1949 the Army began to close the base . Leased properties reverted to their original owners , 600 acres were transferred to the County of San Diego , and 39 acres were transferred to the Mountain Empire Union High School District . Current status . In 2003 , the former military base was designated a Historic District by the State of California . In 2009 , the San Diego County Probation Department said it was planning to shut down their facilities at what was Camp Lockett . Buildings and structures . The district includes 52 standing buildings and 2 structures or complexes of structures built during the period of significance . Two contributing building were constructed before the establishment of Camp Lockett but were used by the U . S . Army during the period of significance . The primary categories of functional building types associated with the period of significance are present in the district . With few exceptions , the buildings constructed by the Army are wood - framed , mobilization - style architecture supported on concrete piers or slabs . Infrastructure buildings , such as those in the sewage disposal plant , are built of poured concrete . Most of the surviving buildings and structures date from the early phase of construction in 1941 ; there are no standing Theater of Operations - style buildings dating from the 1942 – 43 period of construction . Several of the contributors were moved during the period of significance , in conjunction with establishment of the Mitchell Convalescent Hospital in 1944 . Built properties contributing to the Camp Lockett Cultural Landscape Historic District represent a wide range of functional types from the historic period of significance . Personnel support functions are represented in mess halls , day rooms , officers ’ quarters , supply buildings . Recreational buildings include the base theater , swimming pool ( now filled ) , and bathhouses . Buildings associated with care of the horses include stables and blacksmith shop . General support buildings include firehouse , guardhouse , maintenance , motor pool garage , and cellblock . The hospital area contains administrative buildings , barracks , wards , mess halls , storehouses , dispensary , and civilian employee housing . Camp infrastructure properties include the sewage plant , portions of the water system , and the incinerator . Pre - Lockett buildings utilized by the Army during the period of significance include the Gaskill Brothers Stone Store and the Ferguson Ranch House . Historic archaeological features . Historic archaeological features , especially foundations , representing a range of building and structure types from the period of significance contribute to the district and are enumerated as features within one site for this nomination . A total of 47 features resulting from original barracks , day rooms , mess halls , storehouses , officers ’ quarters , chapel , and stables are present . The Western Defense Command ’ s Southern Land Frontier Sector headquarters building is represented in an archaeological feature . Landscape features contributing to the district include original circulation routes , mortared field stone hardscape features , patterned plantings , and open training areas . Eleven circulation routes laid out as part of original camp construction remain in the district . In several locations , mortared stone retaining walls and drainage features accompany the circulation routes . Patterned plantings dating from the period of significance , as well as the oak grove in Chaffee Park also contribute to the district . The Italian Prisoners of War Shrine , which is located about a mile north of the main encampment , also contributes to the district as a landscape element . The shrine is mortared into a bedrock outcrop and features a glass - enclosed Catholic statuette and engraved stone . Portrayal in popular media . A reunion of former cavalrymen at Camp Lockett was featured on the " California ' s Gold " TV program ,