Toward the end of World War II, captured German soldiers were housed behind what is now DSCR. Unlike the treatment that American POWs got in Germany, POWs held here were treated fairly.
According to DSCR history, “In 1943, a 2,000 capacity prisoner of war camp was built on a 50-acre parcel adjacent to the depot. German POWs built the camp which held 1,200 German prisoners, with 130 military policemen guarding the camp.”
Prisoners worked outside the camp but were paid for their work, though they received scrip that could be used only at the camp canteen.
Quite a few POWs worked on farms around the county. Robert Parton, now deceased, told the Village News that a number of the prisoners worked as farm hands in Chester. The wife of the farm owner said she thought they were good boys and occasionally sent pies home for them.
