In a curious twist of events, on Aug. 10, 1944, the Bulloch Herald reported that plans were finalized for the county's new prisoner-of-war camp. The barbed-wire compound was being built on Dover Road near the city limits. At first, talks were underway to build two camps — one near Portal and one in Statesboro — but those plans were shelved and the decision was made to build a single large camp to be open until at least October 15, 1944.