Camp Cody, Deming's Forgotten Legacy
author: Krol, Laura
source date: 2024
availability: web

Detailed history of Camp Cody as Deming's forgotten legacy. Covers the earlier Camp Brookes (1914 joint maneuver encampment); Camp Deming (1916, closed Feb 1917); the recession in Deming after Camp Deming closed; the War Department's 32 training camps announcement; Deming offering free land; geography: 2 miles long by 1.25 miles wide; 12 miles of street graded and topped with gravel and crude oil; 6,000 framed and floored tents with electric lights and coal heaters; the official opening July 16, 1916; renaming to Camp Cody on July 20, 1917; soldiers wages: carpenters $8.25/day; total cost of the camp $2,025,000; the post-Cody conversion to Holy Cross Sanatorium (Tuberculosis sanitarium) purchased by the Sisters of the Holy Cross for $10,000 in 1923; $450,000 renovation costs; the 28 modern buildings on 500 acres including chapel, convent, swimming pool, post office, ice plant, farm and poultry yard; closure in 1938; the March 12, 1939 fire that destroyed the administration building and most structures; the boiler room remains standing.