October 16, 1940

Conscription under the Selective Training and Service Act, preceding America’s entrance into World War II, began. Churches such as the Society of Friends (Quakers), Mennonites, and Church of the Brethren, which opposed military service on grounds of religious and personal belief, organized as the National Council of Religious and Conscientious Objectors and began working with the government to oversee placement of conscientious objectors. Camp Magnolia was established in Magnolia (Columbia County) on the site of a former Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in June 1941 as one of the centers for people accepted into the Civilian Public Service work. This work was similar to that done by the CCC. Of the 400 men who served there, only nine were from Arkansas.