Confinement and Ethnicity: An Overview of World War II Japanese American Relocation Sites

Chapter 4: Gila River Relocation Center, Arizona

Chapter 4 Gila River Relocation Center The Gila River Relocation Center was located about 50 miles south of Phoenix and 9 miles west of Sacaton in Pinal County, Arizona. The site is on the Gila River Indian Reservation, and access to the site today is restricted. The post office designation for the center was Rivers, named after Jim Rivers, the first Pima Indian killed in action during World War 1. The relocation center included two separate camps located 31 1z miles apart, Canal Camp (originally called Camp No.1) in the eastern halfofthe Relocation Center reserve, and Butte Camp (Camp No.2) in the western half. When the Gila River Relocation Center was in operation it was the fourth largest city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Tucson, and the relocation center at Poston. The Gila Relocation Center lies within the broad Gila River Valley, and the Gila River flows southeast to northwest about 4 miles northeast of the reserve boundary. Just 3 miles south of the reserve, the rocky Sacaton Mountains rise 700 feet above the valley floor. Two 59 main irrigation canals roughly follow the contours of the Sacaton Mountains' north and east bajada, and most of the relocation center reserve lies between these two canals (Figure 4.1). The South Side Canal, at about 1350 feet elevation, is near the southern boundary; the Casa Blanca Canal, at about 1225 feet elevation, forms the northern boundary. Interstate 10 now cuts through the eastern portion ofwhat once were farm fields of the reserve. Most of the relocation center is on flat or very gently sloping sandy alluvial loam, but the rocky outcroppings ofSacaton Butte are just west and north ofButte Camp. The Sonoran desert vegetation of the area is dominated by mesquite trees, creosote and bursage bushes, and cactus. Before the Gila River site was chosen for a relocation center, other potential sites in Arizona were considered, including Cortaro Farms near Tucson, Fort Mohave on the Colorado River, and Beardsley near Phoenix. These sites were rejected as either too costly to build or too - ---.c.__ Butte Camp GILA RIVER RELOCATION CENTER Gila RIver Indian Reservation • WI¥. building t N I Figure 4.1. Gila River Relocation Center. 60 close to sensitive military areas. The Gila River site was approved, in spite ofobjections by the Gila River Indian tribe, on March 18, 1942. Plans were soon expanded to accommodate 14,000 instead of 10,000 at Gila River to make up for a relocation center site in Nebraska which was rejected at the last minute (Madden 1969). The construction of brand-new cities for 10,000 people would, of course, require a prodigious amount of resources even during peace time. The copper necessary for the transmission line that would have had to be constructed for the Nebraska facility simplywas in short supply during the war, and it was more feasible to expand other centers. The WRA leased the 16,500 acres for the relocation center reserve from the Bureau oflndian Affairs under a five-year permit. Under the terms ofthe permit, the WRA agreed to develop agricultural lands and build roads to connect the relocation center with state highways to the north and south. Construction ofthe relocation center began on May 1, 1942, with 125 workers; by June over 1,250 were employed (Weik 1992). OnJuly 10, the first advance group of500Japanese Americans arrived to help set up the relocation center. Groups of 500 Japanese American started to arrive each day the following week. By August the evacuee population was over 8,000. The maximum population, 13,348, was reached in November 1942 even before major construction was completed, which was not until December 1, 1942. The -evacuees at Gila River were mainly from the Tulare, Turlock, Stockton, and Fresno assembly centers, but nearly 3,000 were sent directly from Military Area 2 (southern San Joaquin Valley) without first staying in an assembly center. Canal Camp housed mostly rural people from the Turlock Assembly Center and Military Area 2, while Butte Camp housed mostly urban people from the Tulare and Santa Anita Assembly Centers. The evacuee barracks at the two camps were constructed of wood frame and sheathed with lightweight white "beaverboard." Roofs were 61 Figure 4.2. Typical barracks at the Gila River Relocation Center (National Archives photograph). double, to provide protection from the heat ofthe desert, with the top roofs sheathed with red fireproof shingles (Figure 4...