Camp Closing
The Jerome Relocation Camp closed in June 1944 and was converted into a holding camp for German prisoners of war. Today there are few remains of the camp standing, the most prominent being the smokestack from the hospital incinerator. A 10 foot high granite monument marks the camp location and gives details of its history.
The Jerome Relocation Center was in operation for a total of 634 days which was the fewest of any of the relocation camps. Although the registration process caused riots and trouble in the camp, the Denson Tribune reported on June 11, 1944 that the "camp was free from juvenile delinquency (...) young girls and boys are well-behaved, well disciplined, well-trained, well-taught, and well led. Rowdyism, pranks, swearing, petty theft and juvenile vices are practically nil." There were no reports of vandalism. This contrasts with poorer results in some of the other camps.
Once the camp was closed the remaining residents were transferred. Heart Mountain received 507 residents, Gila River received 2,055, Granada received 514 and Rowher received 2,522.
Read more about this topic: Jerome War Relocation Center
Famous quotes containing the words camp and/or closing:
“The Indians invited us to lodge with them, but my companion inclined to go to the log camp on the carry. This camp was close and dirty, and had an ill smell, and I preferred to accept the Indians’ offer, if we did not make a camp for ourselves; for, though they were dirty, too, they were more in the open air, and were much more agreeable, and even refined company, than the lumberers.... So we went to the Indians’ camp or wigwam.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“It is closing time in the gardens of the West and from now on an artist will be judged only by the resonance of his solitude or the quality of his despair.”
—Cyril Connolly (1903–1974)