Amache National Historic Site

A much overlooked historical site that deserves our attention. The audio tour is great, though all too short. Wish there were more buildings to see and visit, but given that it was all ripped out after the war it’s nice that at least a few structures were rebuilt.

We arrived one cold and wet day in early May and drove down the roads of what used to be the internment center. This is the sixth one we've visited and though I cannot say they are all the same: they are pretty much all the same though this is the largest I've seen yet. It was wetter and green than the one in California and more original structures still stand compared to the one in Arkansas where most everything is gone but a small museum in the train deport in town. Being that it was raining we did not get out of the car and go slogging through the mud to go see signature rock or anything. After leaving here we went to the nearby museum.

It's a very sobering experience to see the history which is so little taught in schools and read the plaques of all those citizens interred, the arduous struggles they went through crammed in overpacked halls. The semblance of normality they pieced together in this time is overshadowed by the ghosts of the watchtower, guards barracks, and police station. I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in history

Still a work in progress but worth a stop. The audio tour is worth a listen. Amazing what Japanese American accomplished during this ridiculous time in history.

Although I'd long since acknowledged the injustice of the WWII internment of Japanese Americans, visiting the site filled me with a solemn anger. Historical sites and artifacts like this one have the power to add emotional impact to education. They need to be preserved and regularly visited to help us understand the lessons of our past.

Amache is the newest national historic site (as of June 2024). Additionally, it was one of 10 sites used as Japanese internment camps during World War 2. It is a little bare as it was run mostly by volunteers prior to becoming a nps site. However, you can drive through, but it is mostly just building foundations. You can tell that they are continuing to rebuild. Be aware that it is a dirt road through the site and there are no rangers working or bathrooms available at this time.

Truly a humbling experience. Not much is left other than foundations, but I can tell that they're trying to add more to the location to give you a better feel for what it was like. The interpretive signs give insight into the experience of living there. Quite a bit surprised me. I'd be interested to see what it looks like in a few years.

Not much left but ghosts of a shameful episode in U.S. history.

Definitely worth a visit if you are in southeastern Colorado. We had read about the site's history before our visit but seeing it in person added to our perspective. There is a map at the main starting area--we took a photo of this with our phone to guide our driving tour. Or you can download a map. There are several reconstructed structures to view such as the water tower, guard tower and barracks. Many interpretive panels and a cemetery. Very informative. Seeing the rather bleak landscape on a winter's day gave me a picture of living there in the primitive camp conditions.

Drove to southeastern Colorado to visit the Amache Japanese-American internment camp. It is approximately a mile and a half west of Granada. We printed a driving tour map for the site to ensure that we had a guide. There is a main area with informational boards and a history of the camp. The museum for the site is located in downtown Granada at 205 E. Goff Avenue and appears to be open during the summer five days a week. We did drive by it at the end but there did not seem to be anyone there. Because it was hot and we were tired from the drive we didn't investigate further. We read the informational boards and then had a little picnic on one of the picnic tables available. There is little shade but we had a cooler with cold water and juicy watermelon. Lunch meat and crackers with juice. Then we started our driving tour. We had not downloaded the audio tour beforehand but we tried to. Gave up on that and instead relied on our paper map. There is a map on one of the informational boards for you to take a photo of and use. We chose a turn according to the map and saw some sites. There are more informational boards and signs along the way. Mostly the building foundations are left to mark where the barracks and other buildings were. We couldn't find the spot where the inscription sites was which was disappointing to me. The roads - mostly gravel paths - were not well marked. Frequently we thought we were on the right track for a sight but we ended up not seeing what was on the map. We did see most everything marked on the map by simply stumbling upon the site. We drove all over the camp, just trying a road because we saw it. He was interested in seeing the guard tower and we did see it. The guard tower's barbed wire fencing was a stark reminder of the guards who had a searchlight and machine guns at each of the 8 towers at the camp. I like seeing water towers so was glad to see that they had refurbished the one here. The cemetery on site is a peaceful, albeit smelly place to visit. The scent from the Granada landfill seemed to waft over the place, or maybe it's the smell from a farm bordering the camp? Whatever it was there was a smell in the air. We paid our respects to each of the marked graves. There are benches to sit at to reflect. Kiyoshi Muranaga, who was a private serving in the 442nd, was killed in action in Italy in 1944 but not awarded the Medal of Honor until June of 2000. He single-handedly manned his squad's mortar weapon in an attempt to destroy an enemy artillery gun and was able to fire three shells before being killed by the enemy's return fire. I am glad that we made this journey and that my son was able to see what remains of the camp. We will listen to the audio tour when we get home. It is a worthwhile place to visit as a reminder of how a nation can imprison it's own citizens because of distrust borne of a person's skin color and race.

It's important to remember history, even history that doesn't reflect terribly well on our culture. I've been to Manzanar in California's Owens Valley several times, and knew there were WWII Japanese internment camps in other locations in the country, but didn't know about the Granada Relocation Center (informally called 'Amache') until I stumbled upon it as I was driving across the country. I like to take back roads when I have time. There's not much left of Amache in the way of structures, much like Manzanar. But along with the informational signs and memorials, there's enough here to cause you to reflect quite deeply, particularly the memorials to those men who volunteered to serve in the US military even as they were imprisoned at Amache. One of them earned the Medal of Honor. Stop by if you're driving through eastern Colorado.