President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the opening of 10 such facilities in February 1942, displacing more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry until 1945.
Most of the 600 buildings at the 33,000-acre camp were removed. The current 300-acre site features interpretive signs as well as remains of an entry guard station, a waiting room, a root cellar, an ornamental rock garden and a 1.6-mile crushed rock walking trail. Those who died after leaving the camp to serve in the U.S. military during World War II are commemorated on plaques. More than 900 names of Minidoka residents are listed on the Honor Roll at the entrance to the site.
Note: The Visitor Center, 1428 Hunt Rd. in Jerome, tells the story of the Japanese Americans incarcerated here during World War II. Open weekends late May through early Sept; phone (208) 825-4169. The site is open daily dawn to dusk, all year. Admission is free.