Japanese in Wyoming
Description
Immigration in the Equality State
Long before Heart Mountain Internment Camp brought Japanese prisoners to Wyoming, an immigrant work force put down lasting roots. Beginning in 1892, Japanese came to toil on Union Pacific's railroad and coal mines. But they weren't warmly welcomed. Newspapers charged every Japanese section worker was secret Japanese Army. Allegedly, 600 Japs in Utah, [and] about 400 in Wyoming and probably 100 in Colorado, were ready to serve Japan during the Japanese Russo War. George Wakimoto said the number was closer to six. Such misinformation about Japanese laborers spawned violence against Asians. The citizens of Evanston tried to blow them up. Rawlins ran the Japanese out of town. And in Laramie, young boys threw stones and dragged a Japanese man through the street. Author Dan Lyon chronicles Japanese perseverance, before and after both world wars, in their adopted state.
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Dan Lyon is Japanese American, but he doesn't have roots in Wyoming. He wrote this book to answer a friend's question about the Japanese community in Cheyenne. In his spare time, Dan gives historic presentations and volunteers his time helping people research their Japanese roots in Wyoming on behalf of the Wyoming State Archives. He is also the author of The Girl Guards of Wyoming: The Lost Women's Militia (The History Press, 2019).