Japanese Internment Camps Subject of Joint ICHS and Museum Program
Old Independence Regional Museum and the Independence County Historical Society will jointly host a Japanese Internment Camps program on Sunday, October 18th, 2 p.m. at the Museum. The program is free and open to the public.
Arkansas was home to two of the total ten Japanese Internment Camps in the U.S. One was located at Jerome, the other at Rohwer. These camps, created during WWII, were intended to contain the perceived threat of Japanese-Americans following the attacks on Pearl Harbor. During the war years, over 15,000 Japanese were interned between the two camps including famous Star Trek actor George Takei who was interned at Rohwer.
Shelle Stormoe, the Education Outreach Coordinator for the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, will present the program. Stormoe grew up in Russellville, Arkansas. She has a BA in English from UALR, a MA in English Literature from Kansas State University, and a MFA in Writing from Colorado State University. She has 15 years teaching experience. She presents programs to Arkansas students on historic places associated with the National Register of Historic Places and speaks to about 5,000 Arkansas students per year.
This humanities program is made possible by local support from Independence County and the City of Batesville, as well as by Challenge Grant Endowment funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Old Independence serves a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820s Arkansas territory.
The museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.00 for seniors and $1.00 for children. The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville. During your visit, stop by our gift shop. We stock many items from local artists, authors, and crafters, as well as historical toys and games.
