Tell All Stories: The Power of Community
Amache, also known as the Granada Relocation Center, near Granada, Colorado was one of ten incarceration sites established by the War Relocation Authority during World War II to unjustly incarcerate Japanese Americans. Over 10,000 people, most American citizens, were incarcerated at Amache from 1942-1945. Amache - a place to reflect, recommit, and further the pursuit of freedom and justice.
The smallest incarceration site by population—the Granada Relocation Center, as it was designated by the War Relocation Authority—was in Colorado, only 15 miles west of the Kansas border and less than 2 miles from the town of Granada. Although all WRA records refer to the incarceration camp as the Granada Relocation Center, early on, incarcerees began referring to the camp as Amache, after the camp’s postal designation. Because the camp and town were so close, it was feared that mail intended for the Granada Relocation Center would get confused with mail for the town of Granada.
Built to accommodate up to 8,000 people, Amache housed 7,318 incarcerees at its peak in 1943, making it the 10th largest city in Colorado at that time. During its three years of operation, 10,331 incarcerees passed through Amache. Its population often fluctuated due to work, education, and military leave programs, as well as indefinite leaves as part of the resettlement program.
Like most of the other incarceration camps, Amache was located in a rural, isolated area far from any urban centers. The War Relocation Authority required that the relocation centers be built on federal or other public lands. While the construction of the other sites met this criterion, Amache was the only incarceration center to be primarily built on private land that the government either purchased or took by condemnation. The 10,500 acres that comprised the project area were acquired by the government from 18 farms and ranches.
20 Mar 2024
This site is a new addition to the NPS system and is still being developed. Living 25 miles from the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp in Wyoming had already given us an understanding of what to expect at this site. We started our visit by first stopping at the camp site and took in all the site had to offer, stopping at a recreated barracks and one of the recreation halls that was moved back to the site. We stopped at the cemetery to pay our respects to the few that remain here. We then headed into town to take in the Amache Museum in Granada Colorado. This small Museum is run by the local preservation group and High School volunteers. The museum tells the story and background of what happened here and the events that led up to this tragic chapter of our history. Being a new unit, there is no NPS visitor center or NPS presence but plans are in the works. We look forward to seeing what the NPS has in mind to properly interpret this site. We spent 3 hours at this site.
Our 176th NPS Unit
