Research: Rohwer Relocation Camp
Location: Desha County, southeastern
Arkansas
Land: Farm Security Administration
land.
Size: 10,161 acres.
Climate: Wooded swamp land;
high heat and humidity, with sudden rains.
Population origins:
Los Angeles County (4,324)
San Joaquin County (3,516)
Most of the poplulation was urban.
Peak population: 8,475
Date of peak: March 11, 1943.
Opening Date: September 18,
1942.
Closing Date: November 30,
1945.
Project director(s): Raymond Johnson.
Community Analysts: Margaret
Lantis, Katherine Luomala and Charles Wisdom.
Newpaper(s): Rohwer Outpost
(October 24, 1942 to July 21, 1945).
% who answered question 28 of the loyalty questionnaire
positively: 94.9%
Number and percentage of eligible citizen males inducted
directly into armed forces: 274 (4.7 %)
History: In an early episode,
inmate volunteers clearing brush were taken off to a local jail at gunpoint
by locals who thought they were Japanese paratroopers. Because of the irregular
weather, farming was difficult here despite relatively fertile soil. The
climate also led to problems with mosquitos and chiggers.
See Also:
Carole Katsuko Yumiba, "An Educational History of
the War Relocation Centers at Jerome and Rohwer, Arkansas, 1942-1945.",
Arkansas Historical Quarterly 69 (Summer 1989); pp 169-96.
Source: Japanese American
History: An A to Z Reference, 1868 to the Present,
by Brian Niiya. New York: Facts on File, 1993. This information is provided
with the permission from the Japanese American National Museum and Brian
Niiya, 1997.
