Misplaced Pages

#382617

102-589: Jerome is located 30 miles (48.3 km) southwest of the Rohwer War Relocation Center , also in the Delta. Due to the large number of Japanese Americans detained there, these two camps were briefly ranked as the fifth- and sixth-largest towns in Arkansas. Both camps were served by the same rail line. A 10-foot (3.0 m) high granite monument marks the camp location and history. The marker

204-407: A semi-arid climate ( Köppen climate classification BSh , bordering BSk ), with cool, mild winters and long, hot, dry summers. December and January are the coldest months, averaging 47.5 °F (8.6 °C) and 48.0 °F (8.9 °C), respectively; mornings see temperatures at or below freezing, with the coldest night of the year typically bottoming out around 29 °F (−1.7 °C). July

306-464: A holding camp for German prisoners of war. According to U-boat commander Hein Fehler of U-234 food allocation at the camp while he was there was very poor. Today there are few remains of the camp standing, the most prominent being the smokestack from the hospital incinerator. A 10 foot high granite monument marks the camp location and gives details of its history. The Jerome Relocation Center operated for

408-593: A lake, three small ponds, seven picnic areas, and five miles (8 km) of multipurpose trails that are part of the San Joaquin River Parkway's Lewis S. Eaton Trail. When complete, the Lewis S. Eaton trail system will cover 22 miles (35 km) between Highway 99 and Friant Dam. The park's amphitheatre was renovated in 2010, and has hosted performances by acts such as Deftones , Tech N9ne , and Sevendust as well as numerous others. Woodward Park hosts

510-565: A memorial, the camp cemetery, interpretive panels and audio kiosks. The Japanese American Internment Museum opened in nearby McGehee, Arkansas in 2013 and serves as the history museum and unofficial visitor center for the Rohwer War Relocation Center. Exhibits include a film, oral histories, photographs and personal artifacts of the internees. In 1942, M.C. Brown, a tenant farmer on horseback on his way home from deer hunting, came across some Japanese Americans from

612-594: A predecessor of the Fresno Irrigation District. In 1872, the Central Pacific Railroad established a station near Easterby's—by now a hugely productive wheat farm—for its new Southern Pacific line. Soon there was a store near the station and the store grew into the town of Fresno Station, later called Fresno. At that time, Mariposa street was the main artery, a rough dusty or muddy depression. Many Millerton residents, drawn by

714-409: A result of the sting. In the early 2000s, Fresno's two major venues were built, Chukchansi Park (2002) and Save Mart Center (2003). The 2017 Fresno shootings resulted in the death of 4 people. Fresno has a total area of 116 square miles (300 km ) with 98.96% land covering 114.79 square miles (297.3 km ), and 1.04% water, 1.21 square miles (3.1 km ). Fresno's location, very near

816-550: A small wooden depot in 1872. In 1889, the Southern Pacific Railroad, which had acquired Central Pacific, constructed a new depot on the original depot site. The brick Queen Anne style depot was a jewel for the city and is one of Fresno's oldest standing buildings. In 1971, 99 years after it first opened for business on its current site, the Depot closed its rail operations due to the decline in business. Between

918-664: A total of 634 days, the least of any of the American concentration camps. Riots and isolated confrontations erupted in response to administration of the loyalty questionnaire. But the Denson Tribune reported on June 11, 1944 that the "camp was free from juvenile delinquency (...) young girls and boys are well-behaved, well disciplined, well-trained, well-taught, and well led. Rowdyism, pranks, swearing, petty theft and juvenile vices are practically nil." There were no reports of vandalism. This contrasts with poorer results in some of

1020-433: A troubled gestation during which its creator resigned, BankAmericard went on to become the world's first successful credit card . This financial instrument was usable across a large number of merchants and also allowed cardholders to revolve a balance (earlier financial products could do one or the other but not both). In 1970, BankAmericard was spun off into a separate company, and in 1976, that company became Visa Inc. In

1122-409: Is 75 mi (121 km). The city is located near several Sierra Nevada lakes including Bass Lake , Shaver Lake , and Huntington Lake . Fresno is also only two and a half hours from Monterey , Carmel , Big Sur and the central coast. Because Fresno sits at the junction of Highways 41 and 99 (SR 41 is Yosemite National Park's southern access road, and SR 99 bypasses Interstate 5 to serve

SECTION 10

#1732787083383

1224-493: Is a National Historic Landmark as well as a Superfund site. Before World War II, Fresno had many ethnic neighborhoods, including Little Armenia, German Town, Little Italy, and Chinatown . In 1940, the Census Bureau reported Fresno's population as 94.0% white, 3.3% black and 2.7% Asian. Chinatown was primarily a Japanese neighborhood and today few Japanese-American businesses remain. During 1942, Pinedale , in what

1326-549: Is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California , United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about 115 square miles (300 km ) and had a population of 542,107 as of the 2020 census , making it the fifth-most populous city in California , the most populous inland city in California, and the 34th-most populous city in

1428-425: Is an increased presence of southeastern wind directions in the wind rose statistics. Fresno meteorology was selected in a national U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study for analysis of equilibrium temperature for use of ten-year meteorological data to represent a warm, dry western United States locale. The official record high temperature for Fresno is 115 °F (46.1 °C), set on July 8, 1905, while

1530-521: Is known as the center of Fresno's LGBT and hipster communities. The area is also known for its early twentieth century homes, many of which have been restored in recent decades. The area includes many California Bungalow and American Craftsman style homes, Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture , Mediterranean Revival Style architecture , Mission Revival Style architecture , and many Storybook houses designed by Fresno architects, Hilliard, Taylor & Wheeler. The residential architecture of

1632-500: Is located on US Highway 165 , at County Road 210, approximately 8 miles south of Dermott, Arkansas . On December 21, 2006, President George W. Bush signed H.R. 1492 into law authorizing $ 38,000,000 in federal money to preserve the Jerome relocation center, along with nine other former Japanese internment camps. The PBS documentary film Time of Fear explores the history of these two American concentration camps in Arkansas. After

1734-420: Is near the geographic center of California, approximately 220 miles (350 km) north of Los Angeles , 170 miles (270 km) south of the state capital, Sacramento , and 185 miles (300 km) southeast of San Francisco . Yosemite National Park is about 60 miles (100 km) to the north, Kings Canyon National Park 60 miles (100 km) to the east, and Sequoia National Park 75 miles (120 km) to

1836-487: Is now North Fresno, was the site of the Pinedale Assembly Center , an interim facility for the relocation of Fresno area Japanese Americans to internment camps . The Fresno Fairgrounds were also utilized as an assembly center. Row crops and orchards gave way to urban development particularly in the period after World War II; this transition was particularly vividly demonstrated in locations such as

1938-560: Is the lowest with only 42 percent of the daylight time in sunlight because of tule fog . However, the year averages 81% of possible sunshine, for a total of 3550 hours. Average annual precipitation is around 11 inches (279 mm). Most of the wind rose direction occurrences derive from the northwest, as winds are driven downward along the axis of the California Central Valley ; in December, January and February there

2040-415: Is the warmest month, averaging 83.5 °F (28.6 °C); normally, there are 38 days of 100 °F (37.8 °C)+ highs and 113 days of 90 °F (32.2 °C)+ highs, and between July and August, there are only 3.6 days where the high does not reach 90 °F (32.2 °C). Summers provide considerable sunshine, with July exceeding 96 percent of the total possible sunlight hours; conversely, December

2142-480: The Armenian and Hmong communities. In 1920, Armenians comprised 9% of the population of the city of Fresno, with 4,000 Armenian residents at the time. Old Armenian Town was the old Armenian neighborhood in the center of Fresno. The Hmong community of Fresno , along with that of Minneapolis–Saint Paul , is one of the largest two urban U.S. ethnic Hmong communities, with just over 24,000 people, or about 5% of

SECTION 20

#1732787083383

2244-520: The Blackstone Avenue corridor. Fresno's geographical remoteness also made it an early pioneer in the field now known as fintech , long before the term was invented. In September 1958, Bank of America launched a new product called BankAmericard in Fresno. The city was specifically selected in part for its remoteness, to limit damage to the bank's image in case the project failed. After

2346-536: The Federal Bureau of Investigation 's Operation Rezone sting resulted in several prominent Fresno and Clovis politicians being charged in connection with taking bribes in return for rezoning farmland for housing developments. Before the sting brought a halt to it, housing developers could buy farmland cheaply, pay off council members to have it rezoned, and make a large profit building and selling inexpensive housing. Sixteen people were eventually convicted as

2448-623: The Pima/Maricopa reservation . Adult camp residents worked at farming, the saw mill, or making soap. The barracks were small and poorly insulated. Sometimes several families had to share a one-room "apartment", which did not provide enough room for even one family. Project Director Paul A. Taylor warned residents that leaving the camp without permission and trespassing on private property were punishable offenses. Having thousands of people living in such dense quarters increased their risk of disease. In January 1944, influenza spread throughout

2550-683: The Shinzen Japanese Gardens , boasts numerous picnic areas and several miles of trails. It is in North Fresno and is adjacent to the San Joaquin River Parkway . Roeding Park , near Downtown Fresno, is home to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo , and Rotary Storyland and Playland . Kearney Park is the largest of the Fresno region's park system and is home to historic Kearney Mansion and plays host to

2652-718: The attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 brought the United States into World War II , President Franklin D. Roosevelt was lobbied to sign Executive Order 9066 , which authorized military leaders to declare the West Coast a military zone from which persons considered "a threat to security" could be excluded. Some military leaders opposed this action, and historians have concluded that the order was based largely on local exaggerated fears and xenophobia, plus economic competition. Officials classified most Japanese Americans as potential threats, including native-born citizens. They forced

2754-614: The "evacuation" of 120,000 Japanese Americans; whole families were rounded up and deported to concentration camps newly constructed in isolated areas of the country's interior. The Jerome War Relocation Camp was located in Southeast Arkansas in Chicot and Drew counties. It was one of two American concentration camps in the Arkansas Delta , the other being at Rohwer , 27 miles (43 km) north of Jerome. The Jerome site

2856-486: The "loyalty" of imprisoned Japanese Americans. The " loyalty questionnaire ," as it came to be known, created anger and confusion because of two questions: one asked Japanese Americans if they were willing to volunteer for military service (despite their mistreatment by the government and the army) and the other if they would "forswear their allegiance to the Emperor of Japan" (although many had never held such allegiance in

2958-455: The "rain year" from July 1982 to June 1983 down to 4.43 inches (112.5 mm) from July 1933 to June 1934. The most rainfall in one month was 9.54 inches (242.3 mm) in November 1885 and the most rainfall in 24 hours was 3.55 inches (90.2 mm) on November 18, 1885. Measurable precipitation falls on an average of 46.5 days annually. Snow is a rarity; the heaviest snowfall at the airport

3060-775: The 1880s and World War II, Downtown Fresno flourished, filled with electric streetcars, and contained a number of "lavish" and "opulent" buildings. Among them, the original Fresno County Courthouse (demolished), the Fresno Carnegie Public Library (demolished), the Old Fresno Water Tower , the Bank of Italy Building , the Pacific Southwest Building , the San Joaquin Light and Power Building (currently known as

3162-420: The 1960s, Fresno suffered numerous demolitions of historic buildings, including the old Fresno County Courthouse and the original buildings of Edison High School . This was the result of car-centric urban planning focused on making more room for cars and parking lots, a commonplace approach in the United States at that time. The dance style commonly known as popping evolved in Fresno in the 1970s. In 1995,

Jerome War Relocation Center - Misplaced Pages Continue

3264-405: The 1990 census, it moved up to 47th place with 354,000, and in the census of 2000, it achieved 37th place with 428,000. The Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill was the first modern landfill in the United States, and incorporated several important innovations to waste disposal, including trenching, compacting, and the daily covering of trash with dirt. It was opened in 1937 and closed in 1987. It

3366-589: The 442nd. He said that the War Department was in effect presenting the 442nd as a test of loyalty, and if few men signed up, the public would believe the Nisei were not loyal Americans. Eventually, 515 men volunteered or were conscripted for the legendary 100th Infantry Battalion, the famed 442nd RCT, and the MIS. The so-called " loyalty questionnaire " met with resistance in Jerome (and elsewhere) largely because of

3468-489: The Fig Garden Christmas Tree Lane, which is a nationally recognized event. There is also an upscale swim and racquet club located in northwestern Fig garden, which has multiple amenities including a heated lap pool, massage therapy, daycare, etc. Towards the northern boundary there is a shopping center called Fig Garden Village which hosts a plethora of upscale shopping opportunities. Fresno has

3570-713: The Grand 1401), and the Hughes Hotel (burned down), to name a few. Fulton Street in Downtown Fresno was Fresno's main financial and commercial district before being converted into one of the nation's first pedestrian malls in 1964. Renamed the Fulton Mall , the area contains the densest collection of historic buildings in Fresno. While the Fulton Mall corridor has suffered a sharp decline from its heyday,

3672-522: The Hispanic population, 42.7% of the total population are Mexican , 0.4% Salvadoran , and 0.4% Puerto Rican . Non-Hispanic Whites were 30.0% of the population in 2010, down from 72.6% in 1970. The Census reported that 485,798 people (98.2% of the population) lived in households, 4,315 (0.9%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4,552 (0.9%) were institutionalized. There were 158,349 households, of which 68,511 (43.3%) had children under

3774-687: The Jerome camp at a cost of $ 4,703,347. The architect, Edward F. Neild of Shreveport , Louisiana , also designed the camp at Rohwer in Desha County . Jerome was divided into 50 blocks, which were surrounded by a barbed wire fence, a patrol road, and seven watchtowers. Administrative and community spaces such as schools, offices and the hospital were separate from the 36 residential or barracks blocks. These consisted of twelve barracks divided into several "apartments", in addition to communal dining and sanitary facilities. Approximately 250 to 300 individuals lived in each block. The only entrances were from

3876-681: The Mall includes some of the finest public art pieces in the country, including a casting of Pierre-Auguste Renoir 's bronze "The Washer Woman", reportedly the only one of the six castings that one can walk up to and touch. In October 2017, the City of Fresno finished and opened Fulton Mall to traffic, becoming Fulton Street. This change was celebrated with a large public parade featuring current mayor Lee Brand and former mayor Ashley Swearengin. The public art pieces will be restored and placed near their current locations and will feature wide sidewalks (up to 28' on

3978-543: The National Park Service to the President. The cemetery is located 0.5 miles (0.8 km) west of State Route 1, approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) northeast of McGehee, Arkansas . Signs identify the graded road which goes from the highway to the cemetery, where there is room to park automobiles. The Rohwer War Relocation Center site is now an Arkansas State University Heritage Site, and features

4080-556: The Rohwer camp, on a work detail in the woods. He fired his gun, and one of the Japanese American men was struck in the hip by a pellet while another was wounded in the calf of the leg. The Japanese Americans were working in the woods under the supervision of a government engineer when the shooting occurred. Fresno, California Fresno ( / ˈ f r ɛ z n oʊ / ; Spanish for ' Ash tree ')

4182-714: The San Joaquin Valley was Pedro Fages in 1772. The county of Fresno was formed in 1856 after the California Gold Rush and was named for the abundant ash trees (Spanish: fresno) lining the San Joaquin River . The San Joaquin River flooded on December 24, 1867, inundating Millerton . Some residents rebuilt, others moved. Flooding also destroyed the town of Scottsburg on the nearby Kings River that winter. Rebuilt on higher ground, Scottsburg

Jerome War Relocation Center - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-741: The Tower District contrasts with the newer areas of tract homes urban sprawl in north and east areas of Fresno. In the northeastern part of Fresno, Woodward Park was founded by the late Ralph Woodward, a long-time Fresno resident. He bequeathed a major portion of his estate in 1968 to provide a regional park and bird sanctuary in Northeast Fresno. The park lies on the southern bank of the San Joaquin River between Highway 41 and Friant Road. The initial 235 acres (0.95 km ), combined with additional acres acquired later by

4386-537: The Tower, the Farmers' market opened on the northwest corner of Olive and Van Ness and LitHop, an annual literary festival, featuring mostly local writers. The neighborhood features restaurants, live theater and nightclubs, as well as several independent shops and bookstores on or near Olive Avenue. Since renewal, the Tower District has become an attractive area for restaurant and other local businesses. The Tower District

4488-532: The U.S. Army from this camp, either volunteering or accepting their conscription into the legendary 100th Infantry Battalion, the famed 442nd RCT and MIS. Thirty-one who came from Rohwer died in action, and their names are inscribed on the memorial, as well as a later memorial raised nearby. In its National Historic Landmark summary on the Rohwer Relocation Center Cemetery, the National Park Service writes: Rohwer Relocation Camp

4590-497: The U.S. Army under any conditions, but would readily fight in the Japanese Army against the United States. He organized group meetings at Jerome with other pro-Japanese inmates. The committee refused to register because they were loyal to Japan. 781 evacuees in the group registered by writing across the face of the registration form that they wanted to be repatriated or expatriated to Japan. Camp residents were allowed to leave

4692-484: The United States. Pressure to join the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team was somewhat higher at Jerome and Rohwer, which were much closer to the unit's training facilities at Camp Shelby , Mississippi. These camps became popular destinations for 442nd soldiers on leave. Col. Scobey, executive to the Assistant Secretary of War, visited Jerome on March 4, 1943 to persuade eligible internees to enlist in

4794-493: The Upward Extension Act of 1907 to offer lower-division college-level coursework to local high school graduates who wanted to attend college but were reluctant to move hundreds of miles away to do so. The high school's Collegiate Department evolved into Fresno City College , the oldest community college in California and the second oldest in the United States. In the 1920s and 1930s, Fresno State Teachers College

4896-516: The WRA was "coddling" Japanese Americans). In 1943, the WRA required all adults in Rohwer and the other camps to submit to a series of questions. Officially, it was presented as the registration process to obtain clearance to leave camp for work or school – and it was initially distributed only to the citizen Nisei who were eligible for leave, before being extended to the first-generation Issei – but administrators soon began to focus instead on assessing

4998-580: The WRA's Evacuee Registration Program (the official name of the loyalty assessment program). Kimura, who was born in Hawai'i in 1919 and attended high school in Japan from 1932 to 1935 before returning to the U.S. territory, was described by a Naval Intelligence informant as a "very dangerous type of individual." He said that he was loyal to Japan before Pearl Harbor, and that his loyalty to Japan had increased after Pearl Harbor. He asserted that he would not fight in

5100-399: The WRA's proposal to build Rohwer and its neighbor, Jerome , in Arkansas, but relented after being assured that the Japanese American detainees would be controlled by armed white guards at these facilities and they would be removed from the state at the end of the war. During this era, Arkansas had Jim Crow laws and continued with its disenfranchisement of African-American citizens started at

5202-419: The administration, hospital, schools, and mess halls, in addition to agricultural work or labor details outside camp. As 500 acres (200 ha) of the site used for residences and other buildings, officials used the remainder of Rohwer's land to grow more than 100 agricultural products. These were used to supplement the inmates' food rations (kept to a bare minimum of 37 cents a day per inmate to avoid rumors that

SECTION 50

#1732787083383

5304-448: The age of 18 living in them, 69,284 (43.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 30,547 (19.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 11,698 (7.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 12,843 (8.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 1,388 (0.9%) same-sex married couples or partnerships . 35,064 households (22.1%) were made up of individuals, and 12,344 (7.8%) had someone living alone who

5406-604: The annual California Interscholastic Federation State Championship cross country meet. It is the home of the Woodward Shakespeare Festival which began performances in the park in 2005. Located in the western portion of Fresno, Old Fig Garden is an unincorporated community that, over time, has been completely encircled by the city of Fresno. Fig Garden was created in 1947, as the then-known Fig Garden Men's club achieved nonprofit corporate status, allowing itself to have much more governance. In 1979,

5508-637: The annual Civil War Revisited, the largest reenactment of the Civil War in the west coast of the U.S. In its 2023 ParkScore ranking, The Trust for Public Land , a national land conservation organization, reported that Fresno had one of the worst park systems among the 100 most populous U.S. cities, with only 5% of city land being used for parks and recreation. The survey measures median park size, park acres as percent of city area, residents' access to parks, spending on parks per resident, and playgrounds per 10,000 residents. The Central Pacific Railroad built

5610-555: The camp at Jerome. Rohwer opened on September 18, 1942, and reached a peak population of 8,475 by March 1943. Most detainees had been forced out of their homes and businesses in Los Angeles or the San Joaquin Valley in California. A large portion of Rohwer inmates were school-age children, most born in the US. About 2,000 students attended the camp's schools, which were opened on November 9, 1942, after some delay. Adults took jobs with

5712-410: The camp for several months. The hospital at Jerome was acknowledged as the best equipped and best staffed of any WRA center, and provided enough medical assistance to alleviate most health problems. The residents of the camp were resourceful, forming social and culture clubs. The Jovial Peppers was a group of girls, ages 9 to 12. The Phi Beta Society consisted of a group of young women whose main purpose

5814-408: The camp had a population of 7,932 people, and the following month Jerome reached its peak at nearly 8,500. Most prisoners had lived in Los Angeles or farmed in and around Fresno and Sacramento before the war, but some ten percent of Jerome's population was relocated from Hawai'i. Fourteen percent were over the age of sixty, and there were 2,483 school-age children in the camp, thirty-one percent of

5916-535: The camp remains, though it is apparently abandoned. Some of the rails date back to World War II and before. This rail line also served the Jerome War Relocation Center , which was located 30 miles (48.3 km) southwest of Rohwer. Various building foundations, walkways, culverts and other improvements are still visible and some are still in use by the local residents. Trees planted by residents have grown tall. The camp cemetery survives as

6018-413: The camp with permission in order to take jobs on the outside. However, many did not want to leave without the guarantees of food and a place to stay provided by the camp. And the process of getting a leave clearance was slow, causing some to lose interest. The draft and registration processes also complicated getting a leave clearance. The Jerome Relocation Camp closed on 30 June 1944 and was converted into

6120-408: The camp's cemetery are perhaps the most poignant record of this time." In its summary on the Rohwer Relocation Center Cemetery, the National Park Service indicates that the cemetery's condition is threatened due to deterioration of the grave markers and monuments, but that ownership of the site is unclear. Deterioration is visible in photographs of the site. Deterioration is discussed in a report from

6222-440: The city was 50.2% White , 8.4% Black or African American , 1.6% Native American , 11.2% Asian (about a third of which is Hmong ), 0.1% Pacific Islander , 23.4% from other races , and 5.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 39.9% of the population. There were 140,079 households, of which 40.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 17.6% had

SECTION 60

#1732787083383

6324-698: The city's population, being of Hmong descent. The 2010 United States Census reported that Fresno had a population of 494,665. The population density was 4,404.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,700.6/km ). The racial makeup of Fresno was 245,306 (49.6%) White , 40,960 (8.3%) African American , 8,525 (1.7%) Native American , 62,528 (12.6%) Asian (3.6% Hmong , 1.7% Indian , 1.2% Filipino , 1.2% Laotian , 1.0% Thai , 0.8% Cambodian , 0.7% Chinese , 0.5% Japanese , 0.4% Vietnamese , 0.2% Korean ), 849 (0.2%) Pacific Islander , 111,984 (22.6%) from other races , and 24,513 (5.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 232,055 persons (46.9%). Among

6426-467: The city, brings the park to a sizable 300 acres (1.2 km ). Now packed with amenities, Woodward Park is the only Regional Park of its size in the Central Valley. The park has a multi-use amphitheatre that seats up to 2,500 people, an authentic Japanese Garden, fenced dog park, bike park, two playgrounds, two-mile (3 km) equestrian trail, exercise par course, three children's playgrounds,

6528-478: The city. Another devastating blaze struck in 1883. In 1909, Fresno's first and oldest synagogue , Temple Beth Israel , was founded. As a result of its remoteness from the great universities of the San Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles , Fresno became a statewide leader in educational innovation. In 1910, Fresno High School was the first California high school to take advantage of

6630-552: The college moved to what is now the site of Fresno City College one-half mile north of the Tower District. After decades of neglect and suburban flight, the neighborhood revival followed the re-opening of the Tower Theatre in the late 1970s, which at that time showed second- and third-run movies, along with classic films. Roger Rocka's Dinner Theater & Good Company Players also opened nearby in 1978, at Olive and Wishon Avenues. Fresno native Audra McDonald performed in

6732-811: The convenience of the railroad and worried about flooding, moved to the new community. Fresno became an incorporated city in 1885. In 1903, the faltering San Joaquin Power Company was renamed the San Joaquin Light and Power Corporation and included the Fresno City Water Company and the Fresno City Railway. By 1931 the railway, now known as the Fresno Traction Company , operated 47 streetcars over 49 miles (79 km) of track. Two years after

6834-489: The death of an inmate in an on-the-job accident, tensions in camp were already high. In separate incidents on March 6, 1943, two men seen as administration collaborators were beaten by inmates. Jerome inmates subsequently gave negative or qualified responses to the question regarding Japanese allegiance at a rate higher than at any other WRA camp. Mitsuho Kimura was one of six members of a committee of inmates who conferred with Director Paul Taylor and said that they would protest

6936-504: The east side of the street) to continue with the pedestrian-friendly environment of the district. The historic Tower Theatre , which is included on the National Register of Historic Places, is the center of the Tower District. The theater was built in 1939 at the corner of Olive and Wishon Avenues. The Tower District neighborhood is just north of downtown Fresno proper, and one-half mile south of Fresno City College. Although

7038-498: The first place). The set-up of the questions was confusing and internees were suspicious of their true purpose. The loyalty questionnaire and subsequent recruitment efforts proved especially unpopular in the Jerome camp, located 27 miles south of Rohwer. Only 2 percent of eligible men in Jerome (and in Rohwer) enlisted. Some 2,147 others, a quarter of Jerome's population, were classified as "disloyal" after giving unfavorable responses to

7140-401: The geographical center of California, places the city a comfortable distance from many of the major recreation areas and urban centers in the state. Just 60 mi (97 km) south of Yosemite National Park , it is the nearest major city to the park. Likewise, Sierra National Forest is 40 mi (64 km), Kings Canyon National Park is 60 mi (97 km) and Sequoia National Park

7242-418: The last two questions. They were poorly worded, and made insulting assumptions. Some men whose English was more limited had trouble interpreting them; other understood enough to be offended. One question asked if US-born men would be willing to serve in the military. The second asked all respondents if they "would disavow their allegiance to Japan", but most had no allegiance to that country. Many were confused by

7344-565: The leading roles of Evita and The Wiz at the theater while she was a high school student. McDonald subsequently became a leading performer on Broadway in New York City and a Tony award -winning actress. Also in the Tower District is Good Company Players' 2nd Space Theatre. The Tower District is a hub for community events such as Jamaica My Weekend, Mardi Gras in February, Gay Pride Parade , car shows, A Taste of The Tower, Halloween in

7446-491: The losing side. Art classes and piano lessons were offered. Adult education classes included English, sewing, drafting, flower arrangement, commercial law, photography and art. Dances and movies were frequently available. As at the other WRA camps, many of the Nisei (second-generation, American-born) young men were recruited to volunteer for the armed forces. All adults were required to submit to an assessment of their loyalty to

7548-530: The main highway on the west and at the back of the camp to the east. The camp was not finished when its first inmates began to arrive from California assembly centers . These early arrivals were forced to work on construction of their incarceration quarters. This was the last center to open and the first to close; it operated for 634 days – the fewest of any of the American concentration camps. The constant movement of camp populations into and out of facilities has made accurate statistics difficult. As of January 1943,

7650-418: The name was changed to Fig Garden Home Owners Association. Fig Garden is unique to the rest of Fresno, as it features largely no sidewalks and is lined with various large trees. The homes are well-maintained and landscaped due to strict regulations from the homeowners association. Due to a tax Fig Garden residences voted for, there is nearly round-the-clock sheriff service within the district. The district hosts

7752-489: The nation. Named for the abundant ash trees lining the San Joaquin River , Fresno was founded in 1872 as a railway station of the Central Pacific Railroad before it was incorporated in 1885. It has since become an economic hub of Fresno County and the San Joaquin Valley, with much of the surrounding areas in the Metropolitan Fresno region predominantly tied to large-scale agricultural production. Fresno

7854-451: The neighborhood was known as a residential area, the early commercial establishments of the Tower District began with small shops and services that flocked to the area shortly after World War II. The character of small local businesses largely remains today. To some extent, the businesses of the Tower District were developed due to the proximity of the original Fresno Normal School (later renamed California State University at Fresno ). In 1916,

7956-454: The official record low is 17 °F (−8 °C), set on January 6, 1913. The average windows for temperatures of 100 °F (37.8 °C)+ are June 2 through September 15; for temperatures of 90 °F (32.2 °C)+, April 25 through October 10; and for freezing temperatures, December 14 through January 24, although no freeze occurred during the 1983–84 or 2020–21 winter seasons. Annual rainfall has ranged from 23.57 inches (598.7 mm) in

8058-570: The only site still identified as having been part of the internment center. It was listed as a National Historic Landmark in 1992. It has a monument to Japanese American war dead from the camp, and also a monument to those who died at the camp. The camp site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. A tank-shaped memorial, made of reinforced concrete, guards the cemetery, commemorating Japanese Americans who fought for their country during World War II. 581 men joined

8160-404: The other camps. Once the camp was closed, the remaining residents were transferred. Heart Mountain received 507 residents, Gila River received 2,055, Granada received 514, and Rohwer received 2,522. Rohwer War Relocation Center The Rohwer War Relocation Center was a World War II Japanese American concentration camp located in rural southeastern Arkansas , in Desha County . It

8262-482: The questionnaire. They were transferred to the "segregation center" at Tule Lake , California. The decline in population, combined with earlier unrest over poor working conditions in the camp, resulted in authorities closing the Jerome camp at the end of June 1944. A significant number of former Jerome inmates were transferred to Rohwer. Together with the Tule Lake Segregation Center, Rohwer

8364-460: The questions' wording, unsure if an affirmative answer to the second would be taken as an admission of previous disloyalty and a threat to their families. Others, especially among the citizen Nisei, were offended by the implication that they were somehow un-American yet ought to fight to risk their lives for a country that had imprisoned them and overridden their rights. Due to an earlier dispute with administration over working conditions in Jerome and

8466-684: The southeast. Fresno is also the third-largest majority-Hispanic city in the United States with 50.5% of its population being Hispanic in 2020. The original inhabitants of the San Joaquin Valley region were the Yokuts people and Miwok people , who engaged in trading with other Californian tribes of Native Americans including coastal peoples such as the Chumash of the Central California coast, with whom they are thought to have traded plant and animal products. The first European to enter

8568-538: The state at the end of the war – the War Relocation Authority acquired the land in 1942. Along with other Southern states, Arkansas had legal racial segregation and Jim Crow laws; they had already disenfranchised most African Americans in the state at the turn of the century. The A. J. Rife Construction Company of Dallas, Texas, working under the supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers, built

8670-631: The station was established, county residents voted to move the county seat from Millerton to Fresno. When the Friant Dam was completed in 1944, the site of Millerton became inundated by the waters of Millerton Lake . In extreme droughts, when the reservoir shrinks, ruins of the original county seat can still be observed. In the nineteenth century, with so much wooden construction and in the absence of sophisticated firefighting resources, fires often ravaged American frontier towns. The greatest of Fresno's early-day fires, in 1882, destroyed an entire block of

8772-407: The total population. Thirty-nine percent of the residents were under the age of nineteen. Sixty-six percent were American citizens, having been born in the United States, and were known as Nisei . The Issei , or first-generation, immigrant parents and grandparents had been prohibited by US law from obtaining citizenship, along with other East Asians, were officially referred to as "aliens". The camp

8874-549: The turn of the century. The Linebarger-Senne Construction Company was contracted to build the camp at a cost of $ 4.8 million; it worked under the supervision of the Army Corps of Engineers . The land was heavily forested and swampy due to its proximity to the Mississippi River 5 miles to the east. Extensive clearing and draining was necessary, making construction at the site a difficult and slow-going task. The camp

8976-472: The urban centers of the San Joaquin Valley), the city is a major gateway for Yosemite visitors coming from Los Angeles . The city also serves as an entrance into Sierra National Forest via Highway 168 , and Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks via Highway 180 . Fresno has three large public parks, two in the city limits and one in county land to the southwest. Woodward Park , which features

9078-530: Was 2.2 inches (5.6 cm) on January 21–22, 1962. See or edit raw graph data . Fresno is the larger principal city of the Fresno-Madera CSA , a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Fresno (Fresno County) and Madera (Madera County) metropolitan areas, which had a combined population of 922,516 at the 2000 census . Fresno is home to numerous ethnic minority communities, such as

9180-403: Was 29.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.5 males. There were 171,288 housing units at an average density of 1,525.2 per square mile (588.9/km ), of which 158,349 were occupied, of which 77,757 (49.1%) were owner-occupied, and 80,592 (50.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate

9282-436: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.07. There were 111,529 families (70.4% of all households); the average family size was 3.62. The age distribution of the population shows 148,823 people (30.1%) under the age of 18, 62,601 people (12.7%) aged 18 to 24, 135,076 people (27.3%) aged 25 to 44, 102,064 people (20.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 46,101 people (9.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

9384-460: Was 7.6%. 235,430 people (47.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 250,368 people (50.6%) lived in rental housing units. As of the census of 2000, there were 427,652 people, 140,079 households, and 97,915 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,097.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,582.2/km ). There were 149,025 housing units at an average density of 1,427.9 square miles (3,698 km ). The racial makeup of

9486-483: Was at the forefront of the evolution of the state teachers colleges into state colleges offering a broad liberal arts education . The state colleges later became the California State University and Fresno State became California State University, Fresno . Fresno entered the ranks of the 100 most populous cities in the United States in 1960 with a population of 134,000. Thirty years later, in

9588-594: Was built had been purchased by the Farm Security Administration from tax-delinquent landowners in the 1930s. It remained largely abandoned until the War Relocation Authority , which oversaw the World War II incarceration program, took it over in 1942. It planned to use this facility to incarcerate ethnic Japanese, including American citizens from West Coast areas considered strategic to the war effort. Governor Homer Adkins initially opposed

9690-644: Was closed at the end of June 1944 and adapted as a German prisoner-of-war camp, renamed as Camp Dermott. Due to questions about their loyalty due to answers to the confusing loyalty questionnaire, many Japanese American male inmates had already been transferred to the Tule Lake segregation camp in California. The remainder of the prisoners were sent to Rohwer in Arkansas and the Gila River War Relocation Center in Arizona, constructed on

9792-610: Was constructed in the late summer and early fall of 1942 as a result of Executive Order 9066 (February 19, 1942). Under this order, over 110,000 Japanese Americans and their immigrant parents were forcibly removed from the three Pacific Coast States—California, Oregon, and Washington. In all, ten camps were established in desolate sites, all chosen for their distance from the Pacific Coast. Over 10,000 evacuees passed through Rohwer during its existence, and over two thirds of these were American citizens. The monuments found within

9894-401: Was in operation from September 18, 1942, until November 30, 1945, and held as many as 8,475 Japanese Americans forcibly evacuated from California. Among the inmates, the notation " 朗和 ( Rōwa ) " was sometimes applied. The Rohwer War Relocation Center Cemetery is located here, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1992. The 10,161-acre (4,112 ha) of land on which Rohwer

9996-531: Was renamed Centerville. In 1867, Anthony Easterby purchased land bounded by the present Chestnut, Belmont, Clovis and California avenues, that today is called the Sunnyside district . Unable to grow wheat for lack of water, he hired sheep man Moses Church in 1870 to create an irrigation system. Building new canals and purchasing existing ditches, Church then formed the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company,

10098-456: Was situated on 10,054 acres (4,069 ha) of tax-delinquent land in the marshy delta of the Mississippi River's flood plain, which had been purchased in the 1930s during Depression relief efforts by the Farm Security Administration . Despite initial resistance from Governor Homer Adkins – who agreed to allow the camps only after exacting a federal guarantee that the Japanese American inmates would be watched by armed white guards and removed from

10200-439: Was still under construction when the first inmates began to arrive. Ultimately the camp held administrative offices, schools, a hospital, and 36 residential blocks, each with twelve 20' by 120' barracks divided into several "apartments", as well as communal dining and sanitary facilities, all contained within a guarded barbed-wire fence. The architect of the camp was Edward F. Neild of Shreveport , Louisiana , who also designed

10302-472: Was the last WRA camp to close, on November 30, 1945. The largest remaining structure is the high school gymnasium/auditorium, which was added to and was in service with the local school before it closed in July 2004. The tallest structure is the smokestack from the hospital incinerator. Neither of these is marked in any way to indicate historical significance. The rail line used to bring internees and supplies to

10404-571: Was to improve their cultural background. Other clubs included Cub Scouts and the Double X's. Recreation and sports were very popular. Sports consisted of basketball, weightlifting, boxing, wrestling, and volleyball. Basketball drew the most attention from sports lovers. In one match noted as an "annihilation", the Shamrocks defeated the Commandos 19-2. Frank Horiuchi got credit for the lone basket on

#382617