Manzanar

Manzanar was the first of the ten Japanese-American relocation camps in the United States established during World War II. Prior to the war, the site was active farming community, with apple orchards, packing houses, and post office. The last harvest was in 1932, after the site had been bought by the City of Los Angeles and left to dry up. During the war, it became an instant and involuntary town of 10,000 people of japanese ancestry, housed and working in hundreds of buildings built hurriedly by the Army Corps of Engineers. After the war, the buildings were removed, many of them finding new uses in the surrounding communities. The site continues to be developed into an interpretive site, operated by the National Park Service.