Internment Camps

In April of 1942, the Western Defense Command began to force the Japanese to evacuate their homes. They packed up and boarded buses, trucks, and trains towards the nearest Assembly Center. These temporary detention centers were just makeshift housing for the Japanese until the permanent camps could be built. These detention centers were converted from fairgrounds and racetracks that were designed to house animals; not for human housing.

The centers were located in:
Puyallup, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Missoula, Montana; Bismarck, North Dakota; Marysville; Sacramento; Stockton; Turlock; Tanforan; Merced; Pinedale; Salinas; Fresno; Tulare; Santa Anita; Pomona, California; Mayer; Leupp, Arizona; Moab, Utah; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Crystal City, Texas.

Image Source: A More Perfect Union

The permanent War Relocation Authority (WRA) camps that were set up in October of the same year were located in: Tule Lake, California; Hunt, Idaho; Heart Mountain, Wyoming; Topaz, Utah; Manzanar, California; Granada, Colorado; Poston and Gila Rivers, Arizona; and in Rohwer and Denson, Arkansas (Our Documents).