Women's Army Corps School

Founded in 1942 in response to the overwhelming need for volunteers for service in World War II, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) became a regular unit of the U.S. Army as the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in 1943. By 1945 the Corps reached its peak enrollment of about 100,000, with women serving both at home and abroad. In early 1943, at a time when enrollment at Stephen F. Austin State Teachers College (now Stephen F. Austin State University) had dropped to fewer than 500 because of the war, the U.S. Army established Army Administration School No. 1 here on the campus to train Women's Army Corps members in noncombatant duties. Similar schools were located at colleges in Alpine and Canyon. The WACs were housed in campus dormitories and attended six-week training courses taught by army personnel in the Austin and Rusk buildings. In a show of homefront solidarity, upon graduation each WAC class presented a variety show for the community at the Nacogdoches High School Auditorium. The WACs then left East Texas for postings throughout America and abroad. By the time the school closed in March 1944 about 3,000 women had trained here.

Women's Army Corps School is a historical marker in Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, dedicated in 1994. It is one of 94 historical markers documented in Nacogdoches County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 232 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.6238, -94.6483 near Nacogdoches. The nearest cataloged historic site is Austin Building (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Austin, Stephen Fuller, Shay Locomotive No. 2005, and Oil in Nacogdoches County, 100th Anniversary.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5347009402. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.