Manzanar is the site of one of ten American concentration camps, where more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World War II from March 1942 to November 1945.

Why was Manzanar built where it was?

This act of Congress established the Manzanar National Historic Site "to provide for the protection and interpretation of the historical, cultural, and natural resources associated with the relocation of Japanese Americans during World War II." Five years later, the National Park Service acquired 814 acres (329 ha) of ...

Who built Manzanar?

Manzanar, which means "apple orchard" in Spanish, was a farming community founded in 1910 but abandoned when the city of Los Angeles purchased the land for water rights in the late 1920s. Construction of Manzanar began in March 1942, and 800 Japanese Americans volunteered to help build the camp.