The story of Minidoka is an important chapter of our collective American history. It is a site that addresses the violation of civil and constitutional rights and the fragility of democracy in times of crisis.

—Wendy Janssen, Superintendent of the Minidoka National Historic Site

At the start of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese-Americans to internment camps. About 120,000 people were interned during the war; families were forced to leave their homes, businesses and belongings to live in isolated camps surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers.

One of those camps was Minidoka in Idaho.

Between August 1942 and October 1945, nearly 9,500 Japanese-Americans from areas in and near Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, were interned at Minidoka.

Our Efforts At Minidoka

The National Park Service manages the federal land at the Minidoka Internment National Monument and works to promote education and interpretation about the struggles of Japanese-Americans during World War II. When the Minidoka National Historic Site was established in 2001, it included only a fraction of the original 950-acre core area. The park service faced a challenge to preserve this monument: It was not able to expand the property because available lands were outside the authorized boundary of the site. It wasn't until 2008 when the Idaho congressional delegation helped pass bipartisan legislation authorizing expansion of the National Historic Site that the park service was able to incorporate new land into the park.

But before 2008, two properties neighboring the park went up for sale, and that’s where The Conservation Fund came in. We purchased the properties and held them until the National Park Service could acquire and add them to the site. With this expansion, the park service was able to reconstruct an entire barracks block at the monument, which will serve as the focal point for education and visitor use.

Then in 2011, we protected an additional 138 acres: the former site of the internment camp’s fire station, water tower, military police headquarters, barracks blocks 21 and 22 and portions of adjacent blocks. The National Park Service will begin to re-establish residential block 22 on its original location, starting with the relocation of a barracks building and a camp mess hall donated by Jerome County from the county fairgrounds.

With the acquisition of this land, the National Park Service is planning to move forward with the reconstruction of several more structures, which will generate jobs and significant economic activity in southern Idaho. The National Park Service anticipates as many as 80,000 annual visitors to the site.

At the Fund, we believe America's landscape is essential to telling the story of our country's growth as a nation.
When you donate, you'll be preserving America's history for our children.

See images of Minidoka:

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  Panorama Of Barracks At Minidoka
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  Minidoka: Arrival By Train
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  Minidoka: Children
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  Processing New Arrivals At Minidoka
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  Arrival At Minidoka: All Their Possessions
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  "Apartment" At Minidoka
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  Streets Of Minidoka
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  Sakura Family Portrait Taken At Minidoka

It is an often overlooked episode of American history. After the start of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans to internment camps. In 1942, a total of 120,000 Japanese were interned in 10 different camps located in isolated areas of the west and mountain west—the single largest forced relocation in U.S. history.

Families were forced to leave their homes, businesses and belongings to live in camps surrounded by barbed wire and guard towers. The living quarters were quickly built and substandard and had no cooking facilities or bathrooms. About half of those interned were children.

Our Efforts To Save The History Of Japanese Internment Camps

In 2005 the Fund established its Japanese-American Internment Camp Preservation Initiative to acquire the lands once used as campsites. Many of the camps have little left as evidence of their existence. Protecting these sites leaves a lasting historical legacy that ensures future generations have a better understanding of the impact of World War II on American society. These historic sites provide a chance to understand, appreciate and learn that the denial of civil rights is not to be repeated or forgotten.

The Fund is focusing its initial efforts on three camp sites: Tule Lake, California; Topaz, Utah; and Minidoka, Idaho. We are pursuing opportunities to purchase unprotected land at the sites and to increase their level of protection through either federal legislation or national historic landmark designation.

Successes To Date

Minidoka in Idaho

Between August 1942 and October 1945, nearly 9,500 Japanese Americans from Portland, Oregon, Seattle and the surrounding areas were interned at Minidoka. Yet little evidence remained that a camp was ever there. The Conservation Fund has assisted in supporting the expansion of Minidoka's boundaries and in acquiring lands to add to the historic site. Read our story >>

Topaz Relocation Center Site, Utah

The Fund assisted the Topaz Museum in acquiring land at the Topaz Relocation Center, including the largest remaining unprotected tract within the property. The tract includes blocks 33 and 34, two of the camps remaining unprotected barracks block sites.

Operated as one of ten internment camps during World War II, the Topaz Relocation Center housed over 8,100 Japanese Americans. Topaz became a National Historic Landmark in 2007.