Heart Mountain War Relocation Center: Remembering an Untold Story

Joe and I attended a presentation offered through Ft. Caspar about Heart Mountain which was an internment camp. It was named after nearby Heart Mountain Butte and was one of ten internment camps used to incarcerate Japanese Americans excluded from the West Coast during World War II under the provisions of Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The location for the center was selected because it was remote and yet convenient. The land was managed by the federal Bureau of Reclamation, which before the war had initiated a major irrigation project in the area and had already constructed canals, buildings, and some infrastructure. The site was adjacent to a railroad spur and depot where internees could be off-loaded and processed.

The little lady in the middle was the presenter who was very knowledgeable about the subject. We're planning on visiting the site sometime during the month of August.