What happened at the Jerome Relocation Center?

What happened at the Jerome Relocation Center?

They forced the “evacuation” of 120,000 Japanese Americans; whole families were rounded up and deported to concentration camps newly constructed in isolated areas of the country’s interior. The Jerome War Relocation Camp was located in Southeast Arkansas in Chicot and Drew counties.

Where were Japanese internment camps in Arizona?

From 1942 to 1945, the U.S. Government forcibly removed over 46,000 Japanese and Japanese-Americans from their homes who arrived in Arizona to wait out the war in relocation camps located in Gila River and Poston.

Why were there Japanese internment camps in Arkansas?

It remained largely abandoned until the War Relocation Authority, which oversaw the World War II incarceration program, took it over in 1942. It planned to use this facility to incarcerate ethnic Japanese, including American citizens from West Coast areas considered strategic to the war effort.

What is the name of the internment camp in Arkansas?

The Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Center
The Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Center in Arkansas is largely lost to history. Between 1942 and 1945, more than 8,000 Japanese Americans were interned at Rohwer—a 500-acre camp surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.

Where were the Japanese internment camps in Arkansas?

Rohwer
Two camps were selected and built in the Arkansas Delta, one at Rohwer in Desha County and the other at Jerome in sections of Chicot and Drew counties. Operating from October 1942 to November 1945, both camps eventually incarcerated nearly 16,000 Japanese Americans.

How many days was the Jerome camp open?

This was the largest influx and incarceration of any racial or ethnic group in Arkansas’s history. The Jerome Relocation Center was in operation for 634 days—the fewest number of days of any of the relocation camps.

How much did it cost to build the Jerome camp?

The A. J. Rife Construction Company of Dallas, Texas, built the Jerome camp at a cost of $4,703,347. In operation from October 6, 1942, to June 30, 1944, Jerome held 8,497 Japanese Americans at its peak.

What was included in each residential block of barracks at the Rohwer camp?

Each residential block consisted of ten to fourteen barracks, a mess hall, latrines for men and women, a laundry, and a recreation hall (Figure 3.10).

Did Arizona have internment camps?

The Gila River camp was one of two internment camps located in Arizona, the other being Poston War Relocation Center. Most camps including Gila River were chosen due to their solitary geographic locations, many of which were located in the middle of deserts.

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