Topaz Internment Camp, Utah (1226)

The monument for the Topaz Internment Camp. The camp was one of the camps used for imprisoning U.S. Japanese citizens during WW II. This camp, in Topaz, Utah, is just outside Delta, Utah (see map) and was apparently primarily filled with Japanese citizens who had been residents of the San Francisco Bay area, which is 700 miles west. Like most of the internment camps in the U.S., there has been little effort to preserve this sad episode in U.S. history. There are very few signs indicating the existence of the site, and what signs there are appear to try to whitewash the meaning of the event (see next picture). While there is a relatively well-maintained but simple monument, the site of the actual camp seems to have little serious preservation activity. (see adjacent photos of Topaz (Utah) Internment Camp)