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Densho Encyclopedia

Stockton (detention facility)

US Gov Name Stockton Assembly Center, California
Facility Type Temporary Assembly Center
Administrative Agency Wartime Civil Control Administration
Location Stockton, California (37.9500 lat, -121.2833 lng)
Date Opened May 10, 1942
Date Closed October 17, 1942
Population Description Held people from San Joaquin County, California.
General Description Located at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton, California.
Peak Population 4,271 (1942-05-21)
National Park Service Info

The Stockton Assembly Center was built on the site of the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds southeast of downtown Stockton. Inmates lived in newly constructed barracks located both within the fairgrounds racetrack and adjacent to it. Nearly its entire inmate population came from Stockton, Lodi and surrounding farming areas in San Joaquin County. The first advance inmate groups arrived on May 10, 1942, and the camp's peak population of 4,271 was reached just eleven days later. The camp remained in operation for over five months, making it one of the longest running of the assembly centers and resulting in a relatively more robust inmate-run educational program. Essentially the entire population of Stockton went to Rohwer , with a small number of tuberculosis patients and their families going instead to Gila River .

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