Gordon Hirabayashi Campground
Photo · (USDA Forest Service photo)The place
This site is also known as Prison Camp.The site was a Federal Honor Camp beginning in 1937 to house federal prisoners supplying labor to build a road for access into the Santa Catalina Mountains. Prisoners had been convicted of federal crimes ranging from immigration law violations to tax evasion to bank robbery. During World War II, many of the prisoners of this camp were conscientious objectors whose religions prohibited them from serving in the military. Some were Japanese Americans protesting the Japanese American Relocation, the largest forced removal and incarceration in U.S. Keep reading
History that started after the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Over 100,000 Japanese Americans, many American Citizens, were imprisoned in internment camps for fear they would conduct espionage and sabotage along the west coast. Gordon Hirabayashi was a senior at the University of Washington in 1942. He challenged the constitutionality of internment based on race or ancestry. He turned himself in to the FBI rather than report for relocation. He was convicted and sentenced to serve at the Federal Honor Camp in the Santa Catalina Mountains. In 1987, Hirabayashi's case was overturned. A federal commission determined that the internment had been motivated by racial prejudice and wartime hysteria. In 1988, the Civil Liberties Act was signed by President Ronald Reagan, which acknowledged the injustice and apologized for the internment. In 1999, the Coronado National Forest renamed the site in honor of Dr. Hirabayashi and the other resisters of conscience who were imprisoned there. Dr. Hirabayashi and others attended the dedication ceremony.
Booking
Recreation.gov default: most campsites can be booked six months prior to arrival date. Most campgrounds go on sale at 7am PT / 8am MT / 10am ET, but not always; check the facility Seasons and Fees tab. Some locations also offer shorter supplemental booking windows.
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This campground sits in AZ-06. This member’s public-lands record →