[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 50 (Tuesday, May 2, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S3900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ALLARD (for himself and Mr. Salazar):
  S. 2698. A bill to establish the Granada Relocation Center National 
Historic Site as an affiliated unit of the National Park System; to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. ALLARD. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce my bill to 
designate the Granada Relocation Camp, also known as Camp Amache, as a 
National Historic Site in Colorado.
  The Granada Relocation Camp, which is located in Southeast Colorado 
between the towns of Lamar and Holly on the Santa Fe Trail, played an 
important, and sometimes sad, part in United States history. In the 
1800's travelers that came into Colorado along the Santa Fe Trail used 
it as a place to buy supplies and rest, and it was known as the 
``Gateway to Colorado''. This put Granada on the map and the area was 
settled in 1873. By 1876 it was one of the largest cities in Colorado 
and endured a move further west for expansion.
  The town is now best known for the Granada Relocation Camp, Camp 
Amache, which was established during one of the darker, but just as 
important time periods in American history. This camp, one of ten 
interment camps in the Nation, was established in August 1942 by the 
United States government during World War II as a place to house the 
Japanese from the West coast and was closed on August 15, 1945. Camp 
Amache was named after Amache Ochinee Prowers, the wife of John 
Prowers, the founder of the county in which Granada presides. It became 
its own little city with 30 blocks of barracks, school rooms, and mess 
tents. It also included its own post office, fire station, police, and 
hospital.
  While this was a dark moment in American history, it is still an 
important part of it. By preserving this site, we are preserving our 
own history.
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