EXPANDING A NOMINATION TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES: MINIDOKA JAPANESE RELOCATION CENTER IN JEROME COUNTY, IDAHO A Project Presented to the faculty of the Department of History California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in History (Public History) by Erin Ruth Bostwick FALL 2015 EXPANDING A NOMINATION TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES: MINIDOKA JAPANESE RELOCATION CENTER IN JEROME COUNTY, IDAHO A Project by Erin Ruth Bostwick Approved by: __________________________________, Committee Chair Dr. Patrick Ettinger ____________________________, Second Reader Dr. Christopher Castaneda ____________________________ Date ii Student: Erin Ruth Bostwick I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project. __________________________, Graduate Coordinator ___________________ Dr. Patrick Ettinger Date Department of History iii Abstract of EXPANDING A NOMINATION TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES: MINIDOKA JAPANESE RELOCATION CENTER IN JEROME COUNTY, IDAHO by Erin Ruth Bostwick Statement of Problem The 1979 National Register documentation of the Minidoka Relocation Center, a nomination from 1979, was outdated and insufficient. The historic context was lacking, and only a handful of extant historical buildings were included in the old site nomination. This project addresses those insufficiencies and determines the eligibility of an expansion to the 1979 nomination of the Minidoka Relocation Center, with accompanying nomination forms. Sources of Data National Park Service materials, Archeological Reports, historic surveys, photographs, War Relocation Authority publications, blueprints, maps, local historical society publications, contemporary works on the Japanese American experience in the U.S. during World War II. iv Conclusions Reached The Minidoka Relocation Center Historic District is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criteria A. It achieves significance through its use as a Relocation Center for Japanese Americans during World War II from 1942-1945, and through its use as a Soil Conservation Service “Farm in a Day” event property in 1952. _______________________, Committee Chair Dr. Patrick Ettinger _______________________ Date v DEDICATION I dedicate this work to my mother, Nadine, for being my “first reader” through over twenty years of schooling and for always being my biggest academic cheerleader. This work is also dedicated to my fiancé, Jared, whose patience and support made this project possible. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Tricia Canaday, Architectural Historian at the Idaho Office of Historic Preservation, for her efforts refining my nomination and helping to familiarize me with the National Register process in the State of Idaho. I also owe a debt to JoAnn Blalack, an NPS archeologist at the Minidoka National Historic Site, who introduced me to the site’s history and built environment. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Dedication ....................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ...................................................................................................................x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 Project Need and Purpose .....................................................................................3 2. THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES..........................................6 The National Historic Preservation Act ................................................................6 The National Register of Historic Places – The Nomination Process ..................9 3. DESCRIPTION OF RESOURCE.............................................................................14 Contributing Resources .......................................................................................16 Non-Contributing Resources ..............................................................................33 4. HISTORIC CONTEXTS ..........................................................................................37 Japanese American Relocation ...........................................................................37 Farm in a Day......................................................................................................53 5. LITERATURE REVIEW .........................................................................................59 Detention of Japanese Americans during World War II .....................................59 Minidoka Relocation Center ...............................................................................62 Farm in a Day......................................................................................................64 6. METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................................66 viii 7. FINDINGS ................................................................................................................71 Significance.........................................................................................................71 Integrity ...............................................................................................................73 Determination of Eligibility ................................................................................76 APPENDIX A 1979 National Register of Historic Places Registration Form ............................78 APPENDIX B 2015 Updated Draft National Register of Historic Places Registration Form ....93 BIBLIOGRAPHY .........................................................................................................145 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page 1. “Center Layout- Minidoka Project, Hunt, Idaho” ..................................................15 2. Military Police Building ........................................................................................17 3. Reception Building ................................................................................................18 4. Barrack Building ....................................................................................................20 5. Mess Hall ...............................................................................................................22 6. Warehouse #5.........................................................................................................23 7. Fire Station #1/ Garage ..........................................................................................26 8. Root Cellar .............................................................................................................28 9. Herrmann House ....................................................................................................30 10. Milking Barn ..........................................................................................................32 11. NPS Map of WRA and WCCA Facilities ..............................................................45 12. Example of Relocation Center Residential Block Layout .....................................46 13. “Panoramic View of Camp,” Minidoka Relocation Center ...................................48 x 1 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION This nomination of the Minidoka Relocation Center to the National Register of Historic Places (National Register) arose primarily out of a desire by the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) staff and National Park Service (NPS) working at the Minidoka National Historic Site to expand an existing nomination of the property to more accurately reflect the site’s current boundaries and conditions. The original nomination, completed in 1979, is now out-of-date. The 1979 nomination was deficient from a modern perspective. The boundaries of the Minidoka National Historic Site are now much larger than the site covered by the 1979 nomination. The old nomination also needed to be updated to include an interesting Soil Conservation Service public relations and education event, called “Farm in a Day,” that happened on former Relocation Center land in 1952. The 1979 nomination includes only a handful of buildings at the site’s entrance. Since the original listing in the National Register, the site expanded from less than 100 acres to 388.3 acres. The expansion added some extant buildings from the Relocation Center that were not included on the original nomination because they were located on private property or property administered by another government agency. Therefore, the resources documented in the Minidoka Relocation Center National Register listing of 1979 does not reflect the current state of the site with over twelve extant buildings and structures. One of the primary goals was to have the new historic district boundaries match the Minidoka Relocation Center Historic Site boundaries. 2 The Idaho SHPO and NPS officials also wanted a new historic context to be developed for the property involving the Soil Conservation Service’s Farm in a Day (FIAD) project. The FIAD project occurred in 1952, less than a decade after the Relocation Center closed. FIAD was a unique education