remembering camp logan

Gripping new exhibition casting light on one of Houston's darkest days takes root in Memorial Park

One of the darkest events in Houston history is the spotlight of a new exhibit by the Memorial Park Conservancy in partnership with the Buffalo Soldiers Museum.

“Park Conversations: Remembering the 1917 Houston Mutiny and Riots” will feature six onsite audio experiences situated throughout Memorial Park’s 100-acre Clay Family Eastern Glades (552 East Memorial Loop Dr.).

The exhibit kicks off Wednesday, August 23 with an an opening reception from 5 pm to 8 pm in Live Oak Court. The free public event features refreshments, live entertainment by world-renowned saxophonist Kyle Turner, and the chance to be among the first to see the exhibit, which runs through September 26.

Memorial Park sits on the site of the former Camp Logan, a World War I training camp. On August 23, 1917, after several hostilities from Houston's all-white police force against the city's Black population and Black soldiers at Camp Logan, members of the U.S. Army's all-Black 24th Infantry Regiment mutinied.

In the resulting melee, five soldiers, five policemen and 11 civilians were killed. Those involved in the mutiny were tried via court martial; 13 Black men were found guilty and hanged. Another 41 were sentenced to life in prison.

No white defendants were brought to trial.

“What happened on August 23, 1917 and the subsequent tragedies are part of not only Memorial Park’s and Houston’s history, but the nation’s," Shellye Arnold, president & CEO, Memorial Park Conservancy, tells CultureMap. “This body of knowledge continues to evolve. By learning from our past we can create a better tomorrow for all of us.”

This self-guided exhibit commemorates the 106th anniversary of the event, and includes audio selections featuring the words of decedents and community members whose reflections humanize this tragedy. Exhibit attendees should note that due to the sensitive nature within the audio, parental discretion is advised.

Camp Logan — itself — boasts a long military history. Some 70,000 soldiers trained there, with construction on the camp beginning in the spring of 1917, shortly after the United States declared war on Germany.

Members of the 3rd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, one of the country's four "Buffalo Soldiers" (read: Black soldiers) regiments, were ordered to Houston to guard the construction. They had previously fought in Mexico, under the command of Black Jack Pershing in the Punitive Expedition against Pancho Villa.

When they arrived in Houston, they were met with the city's Jim Crow restrictions. Therefore, after the riot, none of the soldiers who were executed were allowed reviews on their sentences. A small light in the darkness: Faced with national outrage at the unreviewed executions of the original 13 soldiers, the Army implemented the first appellate review process for military courts-martial in the 1920 Articles of War.

While the new exhibit is indeed dark, it's somewhat fitting that it's set in our beloved green space. Houston, like Memorial Park, has grown and bloomed since that regrettable period.

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Both the opening reception and the exhibit of “Park Conversations: Remembering the 1917 Houston Mutiny and Riots” are free to attend. The exhibit runs Wednesday, August 23 through September 26 at Memorial Park’s Clay Family Eastern Glades. More information can be found here.

Three African American soldier at Camp Logan, now Memorial Park

Image via Fred Vermillion: Camp Logan Collection, Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library.

The exhibit commemorates a mutiny and riot following racial tensions at Camp Logan, which is now Memorial Park

Camp Mystic News

Camp Mystic proposes selling property as part of bankruptcy plan

Camp Mystic Files For Bankruptcy As First Anniversary Of Deadly Floods Approaches

Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Ribbons honor Camp Mystic flood victims and families.

The owners of Camp Mystic have proposed selling off the riverfront property as part of a bankruptcy plan, with hopes that a buyer will preserve the camp's “historic mission” following the death of 27 campers and counselors swept away by a 2025 flood.

The century-old private Christian girls' camp filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan on September 25 that would auction off the 749 acres (3 square kilometers) it owns and other assets.

The sprawling campus, nestled among rolling wooded hills on the banks of the Guadalupe River, had several single-story cabins that housed some of the youngest campers and a recreation hall near the riverfront. A second campus on elevated ground was not flooded.

The Eastland family has owned the camp for decades and initially sought to reopen this summer. But they faced fierce opposition from victims’ families and some state lawmakers, lawsuits, and legislative investigations into what went wrong.

A buyer would likely get a portion of the camp frozen in time. Families of the victims have fought to stop any demolition of damaged cabins and buildings and stop repairs as part of their lawsuits.

The bankruptcy plan said the owners expect a purchaser would be backed by a group of families that support the camp.

“Nothing in the plan requires any buyer to operate the property as a camp,” the filing said, “but the plan states an express preference, in determining the highest or otherwise best bid, for a buyer that will maintain the historic mission of the camp.”

Twenty-five campers and two counselors were killed when the river surged over its banks in the pre-dawn hours of July 4, 2025. Camp owner and director Richard Eastland was also killed. At least 136 people were killed along a several-mile stretch of the river.

Earlier this month, state police investigators sought search warrants for the electronic communications of the camp's owners, saying they could provide evidence of manslaughter, negligent homicide, child abandonment, or other crimes.

No charges have been brought.

A probe by state lawmakers determined the camp’s young and inexperienced counselors were not trained for floods and other emergencies. It said an earlier decision to evacuate could have saved every life. Most of the victims were under age 10, and some were attending camp for the first time.

The camp's bankruptcy proposal would have to be approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher M. Lopez. Officials with Camp Mystic did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Monday.

All creditors, including the families who have sued Camp Mystic over the deaths, will have a chance to respond to the plan.

“The Eastlands are now attempting to determine the future of the Camp Mystic property, but the victims' families including my clients, will fight to protect their rights and ensure any sale is fair and transparent,” said Tim Ferguson, attorney for the family of 8-year-old Mary Grace Baker, one of the campers who died.

“The Bakers intend to continue fighting for answers, accountability and justice for their daughter,” Ferguson said.

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