Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Tule Lake internment camp officially named national landmark
Monday, February 20, 2006 | No comments posted.
KLAMATH FALLS (AP) - Part of a former World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans has been officially designated a National Historical Landmark.
The 42-acre landmark was part of the Tule Lake Relocation-Segregation Camp in a remote area of Northern California near the Lava Beds National Monument just south of the Oregon border.
More than 120,000 Japanese Americans were displaced from their homes across the West and put in 10 relocation camps during the war. Tule Lake was the largest center, and had a peak population of 18,789 detainees.
Last year, a National Park Service advisory board unanimously recommended the designation for the area that was part of a 7,400-acre camp. It was designated as a relocation center in 1942 and converted to the nation's only segregation center in 1943.
The landmark area includes the former stockade, the motor pool and portions of the former military police compound. No public lands are included.
“This is a giant step forward,” said Craig Dorman, Lava Beds National Monument superintendent. “It provides to this site national recognition and establishes this as a site worth protecting.”
Dorman was notified last week the landmark designation was signed by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, with the formal announcement expected this week.
During hearings last year in New York, the designation was supported by Antoinette Toni Lee, acting assistant associate director for the Historical Landmark Program.
U.S. Rep. John T. Doolittle, R-Calif., whose far Northern California congressional district includes Modoc County, strongly supported the nomination.
Dorman said support from Doolittle and others will be necessary for the designated area to be developed as a rest area or park. Members of the Tule Lake Committee, a group of former internees and families, have led efforts to develop a small interpretive center.
He said the next step is uncertain.
The National Park Service could be directed to do a study that would outline various options, such as developing the area as a national, state, county or local park.
Other former internment centers, including Manzanar in Southern California, have been developed as parks.
The 42-acre landmark was part of the Tule Lake Relocation-Segregation Camp in a remote area of Northern California near the Lava Beds National Monument just south of the Oregon border.
More than 120,000 Japanese Americans were displaced from their homes across the West and put in 10 relocation camps during the war. Tule Lake was the largest center, and had a peak population of 18,789 detainees.
Last year, a National Park Service advisory board unanimously recommended the designation for the area that was part of a 7,400-acre camp. It was designated as a relocation center in 1942 and converted to the nation's only segregation center in 1943.
The landmark area includes the former stockade, the motor pool and portions of the former military police compound. No public lands are included.
“This is a giant step forward,” said Craig Dorman, Lava Beds National Monument superintendent. “It provides to this site national recognition and establishes this as a site worth protecting.”
Dorman was notified last week the landmark designation was signed by Interior Secretary Gale Norton, with the formal announcement expected this week.
During hearings last year in New York, the designation was supported by Antoinette Toni Lee, acting assistant associate director for the Historical Landmark Program.
U.S. Rep. John T. Doolittle, R-Calif., whose far Northern California congressional district includes Modoc County, strongly supported the nomination.
Dorman said support from Doolittle and others will be necessary for the designated area to be developed as a rest area or park. Members of the Tule Lake Committee, a group of former internees and families, have led efforts to develop a small interpretive center.
He said the next step is uncertain.
The National Park Service could be directed to do a study that would outline various options, such as developing the area as a national, state, county or local park.
Other former internment centers, including Manzanar in Southern California, have been developed as parks.
The comments below are from users of theworldlink.com and do not necessarily represent the views of The World or Lee Enterprises. Participation Guidelines
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Note: There is a maximum of 200 words per comment. If you wish to post more, please visit our forum.
Not already registered?
The World welcomes your comments about stories, and we encourage a robust dialogue on this site. All comments must meet reasonable standards of decency and civility.
Please follow these basic rules:
- No defamatory comments about individuals or businesses.
- No deliberately false information.
- No obscenity or racially offensive language.
- No harassment, verbal abuse, threats or personal attacks.
- No information that invades another person's privacy.
- No business solicitations or charitable solicitations.
Comments that violate these standards will not be posted. Users with repeated violations may be banned from future posting.Comments will be approved throughout the day during business hours. After hours and weekend comments may not appear until the following business day. It may take a couple of hours before comments are approved.
The World generally does not edit comments, but we reserve the right to edit any comment that does not meet our standards.
Close Guidelines