Camp Lawton Prisoners of War Hike

Magnolia Springs State Park is holding a ranger-led Camp Lawton hike on Friday, April 24, from 3 to 4 p.m., tracing the spring that supplied water to Union prisoners in 1864. (gastateparks.org) The program starts at the Camp Lawton History Center at Magnolia Springs State Park near Millen, and park staff say visitors should register in advance through the Visitor Center or by calling 478-982-1660. The event listing says admission to the history center is included, and a parking fee is required. (gastateparks.org) Camp Lawton was built by the Confederacy in late 1864 to ease overcrowding at Andersonville. Georgia tourism officials say the stockade covered 42 acres, was designed for 40,000 prisoners, and ultimately held 10,299 men before it closed after roughly two months. (exploregeorgia.org) The spring is central to that history. A state historical marker at Magnolia Springs says the water ran through the camp, giving prisoners a cleaner supply for drinking and bathing than at many other Civil War prison sites. (hmdb.org) The camp’s short life ended as Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s army advanced across Georgia in 1864. Explore Georgia says prisoners were moved by train to Savannah after the Confederate authorities abandoned the site. (exploregeorgia.org) The history center now anchors public interpretation of the site inside the park. Georgia State Parks says the center is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and features exhibits and videos on Camp Lawton and the park’s broader history. (gastateparks.org) Camp Lawton remained largely invisible on the ground for decades, with only earthworks still visible, before archaeological work renewed attention to the prison site. Georgia Southern University now directs a Camp Lawton research project and lists visitor information for the preserved site at Magnolia Springs. (exploregeorgia.org) (georgiasouthern.edu) Friday’s hike turns that history into a walk to the water source itself — the same spring that determined where the prison was built and how thousands of prisoners survived day to day. (gastateparks.org)