This year, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland formally established Amache National Historic Site in Colorado, following the Town of Granada’s acquisition and donation of the land needed to establish the country’s newest national park.

President Biden signed the Amache National Historic Site Act in March 2022, designating the Amache site as part of the National Park System. That designation, and this year’s formal establishment, will permanently protect the site for future generations and will help tell the history of Japanese American incarceration during World War II. It is the seventh national park that recounts the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.

© Amache Preservation Society

“As a nation, we must face the wrongs of our past in order to build a more just and equitable future,” said Haaland. “The Interior Department has the tremendous honor of stewarding America’s public lands and natural and cultural resources to tell a complete and honest story of our nation’s history. The establishment of the Amache National Historic Site will help preserve and honor this important and painful chapter in our nation’s story for future generations.”

Amache, also known as Granada Relocation Center, was one of 10 incarceration sites established by the War Relocation Authority during World War II, with facilities built to detain Japanese Americans forcibly removed from the West Coast of the United States under the terms of Executive Order 9066. More than 10,000 people were incarcerated at Amache from 1942 to 1945, which housed 7,310 Japanese detainees at its peak, although two-thirds of them 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, 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.”

Amache’s historic building foundations and road alignments have been preserved through the years by Amache survivors and their descendants, as well as by the Colorado town of Granada, Amache Preservation Society, and other individuals and organizations. Currently, the site consists of a historic cemetery; a monument; concrete building foundations; a road network; and several reconstructed and restored structures from the World War II era, including a barrack, recreation hall, guard tower and water tank. The Amache site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1994, and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

© Amache Preservation Society

Visitors are welcome year-round. There is a map and podcast available for a self-guided auto tour of the site. For a guided tour of Amache Museum, visitors can make a reservation through the Amache Preservation Society at 719 734 5492 or by email at amache@usa.com.

There is no fee for visiting Amache Museum or for the self-guiding driving tour app at the site.