| The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. 2000. |
| |
| Shanks Village |
| |
| |
| Shanks Village, Rockland co., N.Y., 3 mi/4.8 km SSW of Nyack; 41°02'N 73°56'W. During World War II, Camp Shanks (2 sq mi/5.2 sq km), with a capacity of 160,000 soldiers, was one of the largest embarkation ports for U.S. troops on the East Coast. Known then as “Last Stop, U.S.A.,” this was the jumping-off point for 1.3 million soldiers heading out for the North Afr. and Eur. theaters of war. Ital. and Ger. POWs were also housed here. With no further value to the U.S. Army, and with a severe housing shortage after the war, 416 barracks were converted into housing and renamed Shanks Village. Veterans going to college in N.Y. city and their families were given preference. In 1954 the facility was closed and auctioned off. Title to a 500 ft/152 m right-of-way through the site was deeded to the Palisades Interstate Parkway. Today, only vestige left is a re-created barracks mus. near intersections of Routes 303 and 340. |
| |
| | | The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. Copyright © 2000 Columbia University Press. |
|
|
