Three Farewells to Manzanar: The Archeology of Manzanar National Historic Site, California Part 3

This report presents the results of archeological investigations at Manzanar National Historic Site in the Owens Valley of eastern California. The Manzanar Relocation Center was one of ten such facilities at which Japanese American citizens and Japanese immigrants were interned during W orId War II. The archeological work was designed to inventory and evaluate all historical and prehistoric archeological resources within the National Historic Site, as well as other archeological resources near the National Historic Site related to the relocation center. Three major categories of remains were encountered: (1) those associated with the Manzanar Relocation Center; (2) those associated with the early twentieth century abandoned Manzanar townsite; and (3) those associated with late prehistoric and early historical Native American Indian use of the area. In all, 15 Native American Indian sites, dozens of sites and features associated with the townsite and earlier ranches, and all of the known features of the relocation center have been fully recorded. This project also included test excavation at four of the Native American Indian sites, four sites associated with the town of Manzanar, and three relocation center features. In spite of historical and recent disturbance, the preservation of features and artifacts is far better than initially evident. Each of the identified components was found to have excellent archeological and interpretive potential.