Arboga Assembly Center

Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture in collaboration with the Marysville Japanese American Citizens League created the Arboga Assembly Center Memorial Site and Interpretive Center. The Memorial Site is located on Broadway Street just east of Feather River Boulevard in south Yuba County. The location is clearly shown on Google Maps as well.  Grant funding from the California State Library and the Teichert Foundation to Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture made development of the park possible. 

Originally, this location was the site of a migrant farm workers’ camp in the 1930s. It was quickly converted in 1942 to temporarily house 2,500 local Japanese Americans following President Roosevelt’s signing of Executive Order 9066 while the U.S. Government built the permanent concentration camps. This led to the forced removal and incarceration of some 120,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry. Nichi Bei, a Japanese-American News outlet, has an article with more information on the experiences of people held at the Arboga Assembly Center as children.

These individuals, who were mostly U.S. citizens, had to abandon their jobs, their homes, and their lives to be sent to one of ten concentration camps scattered in desolate, remote regions of the country. Over thirty years in the making, the Arboga site was designated a California State Historical Landmark in 2009 just prior to the original dedication ceremony held on February 27, 2010.  The location is now owned by the Marysville Joint Unified School District which helped establish a Memo of Understanding for development of the Memorial Site. Find more info on this being a part of the Historic Marker Database.

The Arboga Assembly Center Memorial Site and Interpretive Center serves as a reminder of the impact the incarceration experience has had on families, on communities, and the country. It is an opportunity to educate others on the fragility of civil liberties in times of crisis, and the importance of remaining vigilant in protecting the rights and freedoms of all.

If you recognize any people in the photos please email:

David@yubasutterarts.org & Ryamamoto@cbs.com

See the Arboga Assembly Center on Google Maps!

Media References:

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