Description of Historic Place

The historic place consists of three stretches of B.C. highway, between Hope and Princeton (#3, Crowsnest), Revelstoke and Sicamous (#1, Trans-Canada), and Blue River to just beyond the Alberta border (#5, Southern Yellowhead and #16, Yellowhead). At intervals along these routes are the sites of former 'road camps' which housed interned Japanese Canadian men working on the construction of these three road-building projects.

A 1995 British Columbia heritage marker at Mount Robson Provincial Park denotes the location and acknowledges the injustices of the Japanese Canadian internment camps along the Yellowhead Highway in 1942-1945.

Heritage Value

The road camps at Hope-Princeton, Eagle Pass (Revelstoke-Sicamous) and Yellowhead-Blue River have historic, cultural, social and scientific value, particularly as work camps that were part of the 1942 internment of Japanese Canadians outside the 100-mile Protected Area in World War II, and for the strategic expansion of B.C.'s highway system during the war.

The 'voluntary' forced employment of Japanese Canadians over the age of 18 on the three provincial highway projects is significant because it represents a deliberate government decision to separate men from their homes and families, sending them to live in remote road camps with their future uncertain. It also reflects the decision-making of the provincial and federal governments about occupying several thousand unemployed fishermen whose boats and fishing licenses had been confiscated on projects that would 'further the war effort.' Projects which came under immediate consideration were road construction activities in various parts of B.C., with the focus on those particularly adaptable to hand labour.

Shipped out on trains from the internee collection centre at Hastings Park in Vancouver, the men's status and age determined their destination. Those destined for road camps along the Hope-Princeton or Eagle Pass highways were mostly young or middle-aged Nisei (Canadian-born second generation) and naturalized Japanese Canadians. Others shipped to the Yellowhead-Blue River highway originally consisted of more old men and fewer young men, since these camps were reserved for Japanese nationals (born in Japan), then considered to be enemy aliens.

The road camps have cultural and social value because of their reminder of the living and working conditions and way of life that evolved throughout their tenure. Strikes and unrest were common because of the separation from wives and children, the possibility of estrangement for the duration of the war and food rations. Camps were guarded by armed RCMP and permission was required to leave. Some men and boys perished and others were injured during the hard work by hand of clearing brush, burning slash, constructing culverts and blasting rock through rural areas of mountainous B.C.

At the same time, the internees created pockets of beauty, colour and hope into the dark circumstances of camp life. They established vegetable and flower gardens, built bathhouses, bridges and baseball diamonds and played card games such as gaji, shogi and go. A teahouse was constructed at the Lucerne camp. In 1943, permission to visit families interned in the interior 'ghost town' camps was granted.

The road camps have historic value for their significant contribution to the expansion of B.C.'s highway system through the labour and efforts of Japanese Canadians during World War II. The Hope-Princeton Highway provided a direct link from the Fraser Valley to the southern interior. The Revelstoke-Sicamous project completed an undeveloped section of the Trans-Canada Highway, the most important transportation corridor for goods and services in the province. The Yellowhead-Blue River highway provided a reliable connection through the Yellowhead Pass to connect the B.C. coast with Alberta and the prairies.

Like all internment sites, the road camps evoke the hardships, memories and stories of the Japanese Canadians who lived there. Recognition of these sites acknowledges Japanese Canadian struggles, tenacity and resilience in the face of racism, discrimination and dispossession.

Character-Defining Elements

Not applicable