Amache National Historic Site in Colorado is the most recent national park in America, the National Park Service announced Thursday.
Situated in The Centennial State’s far southeast corner just minutes away from the Kansas line, Amache was one in every of 10 notorious World War II internment camps used to detain Japanese-Americans, who were considered a threat to national security on the time.
The shameful site is positioned just outside of the town of Granada, which only recently acquired the essential land to finish the strategy of turning the camp right into a national park, The Denver Post reported.
“Amache’s addition to the National Park System is a reminder that a whole account of the nation’s history must include our dark chapters of injustice,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams in a written statement. “To heal and grow as a nation we’d like to reflect on past mistakes, make amends, and strive to form a more perfect union.”
The method began back in March 2022, when President Joe Biden supported Colorado lawmakers designation efforts, signing their bill into law.
The bill allowed funding to be released with a view to further preserve and protect the location.
Amache was previously listed within the National Register of Historic Places. It achieved National Historic Landmark status in 2006.
“As a nation, we must face the wrongs of our past with a view to construct a more just and equitable future,” Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said on this week’s announcement. “Today’s establishment of the Amache National Historic Site will help preserve and honor this necessary and painful chapter in our nation’s story for future generations.”
Amache, where greater than 10,000 people were incarcerated between 1942 and 1945, joins six other National Park Service sites previously established as a part of a long-term effort to see a notorious chapter of American history preserved.
While the camp lies mostly in ruins today, the unique foundations and road alignments remain intact, because of years of labor by the Amache Preservation Society, the town of Granada and plenty of former Amache inmates and their families.
Besides a historic cemetery and the unique ruins, the location incorporates a monument and a handful of restored and reconstructed buildings, including barracks, a recreation hall and a guard tower.
The announcement got here just before America’s annual Day of Remembrance of Japanese-American Incarceration during World War II, recognized every Feb. 19.