This year, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland formally established Amache National Historic Site in Colorado after the Town of Granada secured and donated the land required to create the nation’s newest unit of the National Park System.
President Biden signed the Amache National Historic Site Act in March 2022, officially designating the Amache site as part of the National Park System. That designation, together with this year’s formal establishment, ensures long-term protection of the site and supports efforts to preserve and interpret the history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II. Amache is the seventh national park unit to recognize and recount the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during that period.
© Amache Preservation Society
“As a nation, we must face the wrongs of our past in order to build a more just and equitable future,” Secretary Haaland said. “The Interior Department has the honor of stewarding America’s public lands and cultural resources so we can tell a complete and honest story of our nation’s history. Establishing the Amache National Historic Site will help preserve and honor this important and painful chapter for future generations.”
Amache, also known as the Granada Relocation Center, was one of ten incarceration sites created by the War Relocation Authority during World War II to detain Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from the West Coast under Executive Order 9066. More than 10,000 people were incarcerated at Amache from 1942 to 1945. At its peak the site held 7,310 Japanese detainees, two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens.
© Amache Preservation Society
“Amache’s addition to the National Park System is a reminder that a complete account of the nation’s history must include our dark chapters of injustice,” said Chuck Sams, director of the National Park Service. “To heal and grow as a nation we need to reflect on past mistakes, make amends, and strive to form a more perfect union.”
The site’s historic foundations and road alignments have been preserved over the years by Amache survivors and their descendants, the Town of Granada, the Amache Preservation Society, and other community members and organizations. The preserved elements at the site include a historic cemetery, a monument, concrete building foundations, a road network, and several reconstructed or restored World War II–era structures such as a barrack, recreation hall, guard tower, and water tank. Amache was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.
© Amache Preservation Society
The site is open to visitors year-round. A map and podcast are available for a self-guided auto tour of the grounds. For guided tours of the Amache Museum, reservations are available through the Amache Preservation Society by phone at 719-734-5492 or by email at [email protected].
There is no fee to visit the Amache Museum or to use the self-guided driving tour app on site.