camp amache

My first impression of Camp Amache was there wasn’t anything to see except “where it had been” and some informational placards in the parking area. But upon further review of the area – there are roads that crisscross as the original camp with an occasional informational placard that states what the concrete foundation of what you’re looking at was. The size of the camp was impressive and it must have been like a city (or town anyway).I agree that this was a not a stellar moment in U.S. history. I think that people don’t view it in context though. Obviously we were attacked viciously at Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan –while in a state of peace and without any warning, so the fear and nerves of the U.S. had to react to that or risk being destroyed. Rounding up Japanese Americans and sending them to remote re-location camps to keep them under watch is (by today’s standard overkill). One should consider what our enemies would have done or did do especially in comparison to our actions. The Nazis would have simply killed them or worked them to death; the Japanese used captured Chinese as bayonet dummies. We jammed them into re-location camps and they lost their privacy and property. They did get to earn money while in the camps; they did get to grow food and even vegetables that were considerable impossible in the high alkaline soil of s.e. Colorado – an impressive feat to local farmers! They were allowed a food ration and surpluses were sent to the Military, so was everyone else in the U.S. – food rations, fuel rations – anyone remember? They were allowed to join the U.S. military and many did and fought with notable ferocity and honor on our behalf against the Nazis. Could America done better at the time? Maybe, but I don’t know how. Has America learned from this? I think so.

There are information signs around the camp as to what life was like there for the Japanese Americans who were involuntarily located there. We need to be reminded that the U.S. government makes mistakes, too.

We stopped at Camp Amache on the way to Holly and it was very interesting. It was a series on pictures and narrative that hold about the camp. It was very informative. It was sad to think that American citizens were treated like this. It was a sad part of history. We were glad we stopped.

As you travel along US 50 east of Lamar and heading to Kansas, about a mile off the main road is this monument to a dark chapter of American history. It's decently maintained, and there is good signage. Prepare yourself and download the podcast driving tour before you get there, because there's no usable internet out there.

The Amache Museum is on the corner of US-50 (E Goff Ave) and S. Irvin St. in Granada. I highly recommend visiting it before heading out to the site of the Granada Relocation Center (called "Amache"). The museum explains what "relocation centers" actually were-- concentration camps (not to be confused with Nazi death camps) where residents and US citizens of Japanese origin were forcibly incarcerated during WWII. Executive Order 9066, which set up exclusion zones, paved the way for the forced evacuation of Japanese Americans without charges being filed or trial held. Amache opened in August 1942, and at its peak population Amache held over 7,300 internees.The museum has a diorama showing the location of barracks and other facilities, and it is good to keep in mind before heading to the site. It also has artifacts of former internees and accounts of their experiences.West of town is the actual camp site. The Amache Preservation Society has done a great job of installing interpretive signs to help the visitor envision which facilities were where. They have found and reinstalled the original camp water tower, and there is also a reconstructed guard tower. near the southwest corner of the site are the cemetary and monuments. The last time I'd visited in 1979 the area was being used as cattle range, so it was difficult to figure out what the foundations and other remains belonged to. With the help of the signs more recently installed, one can find where the hospital, police station, and other facilities used to stand.Amache is an unpleasant but neccesary reminder of government sponsored injustice in American history. May we never repeat our mistakes.

First off, this place is hard to get to. It is in southeast Colorado, near the Kansas border, a good 3 hour drive from Colorado Springs. Camp Amache has a small sign indicating where to turn (it is about a half mile west of Granada).There is no visitor center, few signs, and probably no other people (we were the only ones there at that time). At the entrance to the camp you will find a few plaques explaining what you will see. Once you drive into the camp to the left of the signs, all you will see are unpaved dirt roads and ruins of what once was a Japanese internment camp. I HIGHLY HIGHLY reccommend you download the audio tour from the Amache Preservation Society, http://www.amache.org/, it will help make sense of what you are seeing) and take a photo of the camp with your phone (map is on one of the plaques, or print out your own).This camp is likely the most realistic historic site you will ever see because it is so infrequently marked (could change years from now). You will get a feeling of isolation when you drive alone on dirt roads with no one and nothing around you. There are some guard towers which still stand to remind you of the oppression the camp residents faced when imprisoned, a marker mentioning a school which once stood there, a post office which once stood near the high school and security facilities, the rubble from the bunkers where hundreds of people were crammed into tiny living quarters.The only knock on the site is that there are few markers and if you don't follow the CD to a T you will be lost and the site may make you feel claustraphobic as you try to find your way past stone and the remains of a barbed wire fence. However, if reality is what you want and to be able to make your own path, this is a very interesting place, one which is definitively worth the drive.

A group of us decided to do a two trip and visit some of our historical sites in Colorado. Found out about Camp Amache while do some websurfing and really looked forward to visiting it. While the history of the site is fascinating and sad at the same time, it is not a very well maintained site. While their website says the Camp Amache (Granada, CO) museum is open throughout the summer, when we arrived at the Camp a sign was posted that the museum closed on 8 Aug and gave a number to call for assistance. By the way, read the website carefully the museum isn't on site, it is about 2 miles away in the town of Granada. If you print the map of the camp be aware that while the map shows street names and numbers, when you drive through the camp the streets name and numbers are not posted, it is still fairly easy to navigate around but you can get a little confused, its a small area though and you can usually locate a white sign that identifies a specific point of interest and helps you relocate yourself on the map. This site has such possilbiites and is really fascinating even in the raw state that it is in. There are no actual buildings left standing except for a water tank and well house and the recreated guard post and water tower. Amazing that one of the internee's here went on to servie in the U.S. Military and was awarded the Medal of Honor. It was worth the stop.

I just feel so sorry for all those people who were penned up here! What that must have been like, uprooted and everything! It's kind of out in the middle of nowhere, a mile or two off the highway, on a poorly maintained dirt road! It's history, but I had to get the Hell out of there!

Although we did not visit the actual site of Camp Amache, the visit to the museum was very interesting and informative. We stopped there on the very day of the annual pilgrimage of descendants, residents, and friends of those who were relocated to Camp Amache visit. That was quite interesting to overhear stories and remembrances of the camp. We had researched the site previous to our visit to Granada and through photographs posted on the site and the very interesting audio tour it was quite an interesting experience and something worthwhile to visit.

The site of the Japanese Internment camp is a haunting look at a time in our history when fear over ruled logic. This site is in the process of being restored to some degree. The foundations and signage help you get a feel for the enormity of this injustice. To top it off, the small cemetery and monument to the 442 Regiment let you know this was a human experience that must not be repeated.

We had always wanted to visit since learning about the local involvement in researching and honoring this chapter in Granada, Colo's history.The museum is one of the best focused collections we have ever visited. Insightful, sensitive, and beautifully presented. We were also able to visit the site of the Relocation Camp with History Colorado's Tours & Treks program.

this place has been literally turned into a trash dump. there is not much to see here.

This is the remains of one of the Japanese Internment camps of the 1940's. Unfortunately none of the buildings survive at the site, but there is a cemetery, and foundations. The high school students in near-by Granada have done much research and help preserve the area. Contact the school in Granada to see the museum. Access to the camp is free and open 24/7.

We all know the story of how Japanese-Americans living on the West Coast were herded up at the beginning of World War II and relatively imprisoned in concentration camps (albeit, nicer camps than what we usually think of as a concentration camp, and they did have limited rights to get passes to go into town). But, only recently has it become possible to visit a couple of these camps, and Camp Amache is one. However, even Camp Amache is not "restored". There are no visitor facilities, aside from a few simple signs along the dirt roads that are within the old camp area. And, there are no buildings left here. What you will see are the foundations of old buildings, such as barracks, a military police outpost, a guard tower, and other building that were once in the bustling camp. There is a small cemetery where some of the Japanese children who died here are buried, and it is touching to see the coins on the headstones, which is the mark of a Japanese ceremony. There's also a shrine of sorts to one of the young Japanese men from Camp Amache who enlisted in the US Army and sacrificed his life in a feat of bravery.Again, this is not an historic that is finished, but I felt fortunate to drive and walk around here for about 90 minutes to stand in silence and look at the meager remains and contemplate a part of our history that I had only read about in the past. Quite emotional, really.The site is located just west of Granada, Colorado, which is along US route 50. From route 50 you turn south on County Road 23.5 (there is a sign, but it's not prominent), and drive less than a mile to enter the camp. The roads are dirt/gravel, but in excellent condition, so you will have no problems in a regular passenger car. Since there is little information at the camp, it's best to investigate the topic of Camp Amache on the internet ahead of time. There are limited tourist facilities in the town, but this is a small agricultural community. There are no restroom facilities at Camp Amache.