Bainbridge Japanese Exclusion Memorial
4192 Eagle Harbor Drive, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Dawn to Dusk
$
parks
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Located at Pritchard Park, the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial is a National Parks Historic Site and an outdoor exhibit commemorating the internment of Japanese Americans from Bainbridge Island in the state of Washington.
It’s part of the Minidoka National Historic Site and is a touching tribute to the many Japanese-Americans who lived on Bainbridge and were forcibly removed from their homes during WWII.
The 276-foot-long Memorial Wall is made of old-growth red cedar, granite, and basalt, and honors the names of all 276 Bainbridge Island Japanese and Japanese Americans who were exiled from Bainbridge Island by President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 and Civilian Exclusion Order No. 1.
The memorial is full of beautiful artwork as well as lots of information to read, surrounded by lush greenery, making it a quiet and peaceful place. It’s a great place for older kids to learn some important history of the island. Littler kids will love running up and down the winding memorial and checking out the colorful paper cranes that are often left to decorate the memorial.
There is a Bainbridge Island Junior Ranger booklet available about the memorial that will teach your kids all about the Japanese American community of Bainbridge Island, and how this history inspires their mission: Nidoto Nai Yoni - Let It Not Happen Again. You can pick one up at the visitor center or download it from NPS at: https://www.nps.gov/miin/learn/kidsyouth/beajuniorranger.htm
The memorial is free, open from dawn to dusk, and you can park on-site. After you visit the memorial you can head across the parking lot to Pritchard Park. A short walk down a hill will lead you to a beach area with views of the ferry dock and downtown Seattle.