Park Service to Open New Minidoka Internment Camp Visitor Center

HUNT, Idaho (KLIX)-A new visitor center will open later this month at the Minidoka National Site east of Jerome.

The National Park Service announced the new center will open to the public the afternoon of Feb. 22 at the historic site where 13,000 Japanese Americans were housed during World War II. The camp has few buildings now, including some of the old shanty halls that served as residences for people held there. The Hunt camp was one of several built in rural areas of the United States during the war.

The newly renovated visitor center had served as warehouse #5 and automotive shop. New additions include a theater for film screenings, new history exhibits on the internment, plus a dedicated exhibit for the first generation pioneers titled "The Isseri: A Legacy of Courage" put in by Friends of Minidoka; the center will also house a bookstore.