Heart Mountain Relocation Center

Heart Mountain Relocation Center
Name	Heart Mountain Relocation Center
Settlement type	Wartime incarceration camp
Location	Park County, Wyoming, United States
Established title	Opened
Established date	August 1942
Disestablished title	Closed
Disestablished date	November 1945

Heart Mountain Relocation Center was one of ten American sites where people of Japanese American ancestry were forcibly removed and incarcerated during World War II following Executive Order 9066. Located near Cody, Wyoming, the facility detained approximately 10,767 internees, many from California and Washington (state), between 1942 and 1945. The site became a focal point for controversies over civil liberties, draft resistance, and postwar redress related to the Internment of Japanese Americans and the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

Background and Establishment

The center was established after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in February 1942, a measure implemented by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and enforced by the United States Army and the War Relocation Authority. Federal decisions followed wartime incidents such as the Attack on Pearl Harbor and debates in the U.S. Congress involving figures like Senator Sheridan Downey and Representative John M. Costello. Land acquisition involved coordination with the Bureau of Reclamation and local authorities in Park County, Wyoming, near Heart Mountain (Wyoming), a prominent landmark used in naming. Construction and logistics were overseen by contractors and units including elements of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Camp Layout and Facilities

The camp's design reflected standardized plans used across Manzanar War Relocation Center and Gila River War Relocation Center with blocks of wooden barracks, mess halls, latrines, and a hospital. Administration was performed from a central compound staffed by the War Relocation Authority personnel and guards from the Department of Justice and local Wyoming National Guard elements. Utilities were supplied by regional entities tied to the North Platte River basin and nearby rail lines served by the Union Pacific Railroad. Recreational spaces, a high school modeled after curricula in Los Angeles Unified School District schools, and vocational workshops paralleled facilities at Amache (Granada Relocation Center).

Daily Life and Community Institutions

Residents organized institutions reflecting prewar affiliations such as churches, Buddhist temples, and community associations linked to cities like San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, and Sacramento, California. Newspapers and newsletters echoed formats used by publications tied to the Internment experience and by alumni from universities such as University of California, Berkeley and Washington State University. Sports teams and cultural programs referenced leagues and traditions from California State League and local performing arts influenced by groups like the Japanese American Citizens League. Medical care involved standards paralleling those of the American Red Cross and nurses trained in programs associated with institutions such as Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Resistance, Legal Cases, and Draft Controversies

The camp was the site of organized resistance and legal challenges involving draft resisters and activists connected to organizations like the Japanese American Citizens League and legal advocates influenced by figures from the American Civil Liberties Union. Cases echoed constitutional questions litigated in the Supreme Court of the United States during the war era, such as decisions involving Korematsu v. United States and Hirabayashi v. United States. Heart Mountain became notable for the "loyalty questionnaire" conflicts tied to policy set by the War Department and for protests leading to trials in Wyoming courts and federal venues in Denver, Colorado and San Francisco, California. Prominent individuals associated with resistance included activists who later worked with institutions like the National Council for Japanese American Redress.

Closure and Postwar Legacy

The facility closed in November 1945 as the War Relocation Authority wound down operations and internees returned to communities across the United States including Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, and Honolulu. Postwar outcomes connected to the broader Japanese American experience involved legal restitution efforts culminating in the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 and the establishment of the Civil Liberties Public Education Fund. Former residents contributed to postwar narratives through memoirs, oral histories collected by institutions like the Densho Project and the Japanese American National Museum, and scholarship from historians at universities such as Stanford University and University of Colorado.

Preservation, Memorialization, and Interpretations

The site has been the focus of preservation by groups including the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and has drawn involvement from the National Park Service and the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office. Interpretive programs have engaged scholars associated with the Smithsonian Institution, curators from the Japanese American National Museum, and filmmakers working with archives from the Library of Congress and the National Archives and Records Administration. Debates over interpretation have engaged public historians, veterans' organizations such as the American Legion, civil rights scholars linked to the Institute for Historical Review critique sites, and educators from the National Council for the Social Studies designing curricula for secondary schools. Ongoing commemorations include exhibits, oral history projects with partners like the University of Wyoming and tours coordinated with the Cody, Wyoming municipal authorities.

Category:Internment of Japanese Americans Category:Wyoming history