Background

Manzanar National Historic Site contains evidence of several historical eras. The Paiute and Shoshone peoples occupied the vicinity for centuries. In the late nineteenth century, a cattle ranching homestead flourished here. In the early 1900s, the town of Manzanar grew to be a thriving fruit growing orchard community. By 1913, the city of Los Angeles completed its aqueduct and owned 95% of the Owens Valley. The town of Manzanar was then abandoned and the land remained vacant until the relocation center was constructed in March 1942. Manzanar National Historic Site was established in 1996 to "provide for the protection and interpretation of historic, cultural, and natural resources associated with the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War Two."

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, West Coast military commander John L. DeWitt filed a report accusing Japanese-Americans of engaging in espionage and disloyal conduct. Less than three months later, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order No. 9066 (February 19, 1942) empowering the Secretary of War to round up U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry and Japanese resident aliens from the West Coast. Approximately 118,000 citizens were routed under military guard to assembly centers and then ten internment camps with no more than what they could carry in two suitcases.

Manzanar War Relocation Center began as an "assembly center" under U.S. Army control. The 500-acre camp was quickly filled with former residents of Bainbridge Island, WA and Terminal Island, CA, followed by persons of Japanese ancestry expelled from Southern California (more than 70% from the Los Angeles area). Acres of farmland were part of this camp, existing beyond the fence. The War Relocation Authority took control of Manzanar on June 1, 1942 and operated the camp until it closed in November 1945. A total of 11,400 people were processed through this relocation center. The population reached 10,200 in September 1942; by 1944 it was 6,000.

The camp consisted of 36 blocks of wooden barracks within a confined one-square-mile area. Men, women, and children sought to establish some semblance of normal life while attempting to overcome the trauma of forced evacuation and uncertain future. The camp population, through its strength and resourcefulness, beautified the barracks with gardens and ponds. They built a city – a microcosm of an American society much like what they had to leave behind.

Weather conditions at the camp were often harsh, with high winds and extreme temperatures. Even in late spring, temperatures may drop to below freezing. In the summer, temperatures rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

People

Many of the internees volunteered or were drafted into the U.S. military. The 100thBN/442nd Regimental Combat Team of Japanese Americans became one of the most decorated of the war in Europe. Others volunteered to serve in the Military Intelligence Service. Internees at Manzanar were allowed to leave for jobs in other parts of the country, provided they had a sponsor. Older people and children comprised the main populace by the time the camp closed in November 1945.

Many notable people were sent to Manzanar. Among their ranks was the family of Sadao Munemori, a 19-year-old boy who was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroics in Italy during World War II. Ralph Lazo was another Manzanar teenager. He was of Mexican and Irish decent. When his best friends were removed from their homes and taken to Manzanar, Ralph went too because he felt they were all the same. His was the only documented case of a non-Asian who was not part of an Asian family who voluntarily entered the camps. One hundred ten orphans (some as young as six months) were sent to the Children’s Village at Manzanar, the only camp to have such an orphanage. Toyo Miyatake, a professional photographer, snuck a camera lens into Manzanar, built a camera and became the official photographer of the camp. Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston wrote about her childhood experiences in the book, Farewell to Manzanar. Their memories recorded on film and in prose are vivid portraits of life in the camp.

Under the terms of the lease with the City of Los Angeles (the site’s landowners until the NPS purchased it in 1996) the site was returned to its prior condition. The barracks were dismantled, leaving only the auditorium, the stone guardhouses, the cemetery, several ponds, and hundreds of trees planted by the internees.

Designations

In 1972 Manzanar became a state historical landmark. In 1985 the Department of the Interior designated Manzanar as a National Landmark under the National Park Service. On February 19, 1992, the 50th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 9066, Congress passed HR 543, establishing Manzanar as a National Historic Site. HR 543 was passed by a landslide vote of 400-13, demonstrating profound and overwhelming support. During the Manzanar Pilgrimage of 1997, the land was officially turned over to the National Park Service. Today, Manzanar National Historic Site includes 813 acres of land.

The Pilgrimage

The annual pilgrimage is held on the last Saturday of April near the cemetery monument. Former internees, their descendants, friends and the general public join for a day of remembrance, education and rededication of the cemetery in religious (Christian and Buddhist) ceremonies. On this day, the War Relocation Center is brought to life by the memories its former residents.

Restoration

As part of the Save America's Treasures millennium grant, the historic perimeter barbed wire fence that enclosed the living area of the camp will be rebuilt by the end of this calendar year. Plans are underway to adaptively restore the Auditorium to be the future Visitor Center/Park Headquarters. Construction begins next year and should be completed by October of 2002. Other projects to be completed in the future include the reconstruction of one of eight guard towers, at least one barrack and internee-built garden and ponds. These restorations, along with the Visitor Center exhibits, will give visitors a better sense of what Manzanar was like when it was an internment camp.

A plaque at the Poston, AZ Relocation Center captures the spirit of Manzanar’s restoration project:

May it serve as a constant reminder of our past so that Americans in the future will never again be denied their constitutional rights and may the remembrance of that experience serve to advance the evolution of the human spirit.

Manzanar National Historic Site, P.O. Box 426, Independence, CA 93526-0426