J is for Japanese Internment Camp

The existence of a WWII era Japanese Internment Camp near Kooskia, Idaho was one of the big surprises unearthed in researching River and Ranch. This is reality not fiction. While little remains to mark the camp's footprint near Canyon Creek's entry into the Lochsa River, there remains an historical record of this camp, the men that were detained and the work they did on a stretch of Highway 12 leading up to Lolo Pass.

The University of Idaho has done work both on the site as well as in written archives putting together a story of this unfortunate piece of U.S. history. This camp near Kooskia and the men that worked there, were somewhat unique amongst all of the internment camps. They were aware of their rights according to the 1929 Geneva Convention. They organized themselves a bit and file a grievance and surprisingly the INS responded.

From most accounts the camp warden, Merrill Scott was a just man, maybe even a bit on the kind side. He acknowledged their grievances and fixed them. The result was a group of men, mostly non-citizen residents of the U.S. who were mostly happy to work. Records show that some of the men had even volunteered to come to this camp, because unlike Minidoka and other internment camps, there was work to be done here, building Highway 12 up the length of the Lochsa. The men were paid about 50 dollars each month and had something to do besides while away the hours in a confined setting.

The Densho Encyclopedia has the most complete record of this internment camp that I found while researching this bit of WWII-era Lochsa history.