Gila River War Relocation Center The Gila River War Relocation Center was an internment camp built by the War Relocation Authority ( WRA ) for internment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War . It was located about southeast of Phoenix , Arizona . The relocation center was located on the Gila River Indian Reservation , near an irrigated agricultural center . It comprised two separate camps , named ' Canal ' and ' Butte ' . Construction began on May 1 , 1942 , over the strong objections of the reservation ' s American Indian government . The official opening took place less than two months later , on July 20 . Canal Camp closed on September 28 , 1945 . Butte Camp was shut down on November 10 , 1945 and the Gila River Internment Center was officially closed on November 16 , 1945 . Gila River received internees from California ( Fresno , Sacramento , and Los Angeles ) . In addition , it took in 2 , 000 people from the Jerome War Relocation Center in Arkansas when that facility closed in 1944 . It became Arizona ' s fourth - largest city , with a peak population of 13 , 348 . Some of the intended internees died en route to Gila River or shortly after arrival in the harsh desert environment . One of these was the mother of Iva Toguri , the American woman of Japanese descent who was later condemned as " Tokyo Rose " and convicted of treason due to perjured testimony . Gila River was considered one of the least oppressive camps of its kind . It had only a single watchtower , and its fences were among the very few that lacked barbed wire . The administrators of the camps seemed to care for the evacuees , and allowed them access to the amenities of Phoenix , and recreation al activities such as sports and arts . Butte camp contained a 6 , 000 - seat baseball field , designed by Kenichi Zenimura , a professional baseball player , and considered to be the best in the WRA system . Internees also built a theater for plays and films , built playground s , and planted trees . Gila River had a communal medical facility at Butte Hospital . Canal Camp had 404 buildings with 232 barracks and 24 separate schoolhouses . Butte Camp contained 821 buildings with 627 residential barracks . These barracks were made of wood and fireproof shingle s that blocked out the desert heat . Each barrack was made to house four single families in separate apartments . Unfortunately , the camp exceeded its capacity : it was designed for 10 , 000 residents , but held over 13 , 000 . Because of this some families resorted to living in the mess hall or recreation buildings and used blankets as makeshift walls . Water shortages also plagued the camp , and poisonous rattlesnakes and scorpions kept Butte Hospital extremely busy . As the land for the camp sites is owned by the Gila River Indian Tribe and is considered sacred by them , public access to the sites is currently restricted . Although all the main structures are long gone , some artifacts such as the road grid , concrete slab foundations , manholes , cisterns , several rock alignments and dozens of small ponds remain today . On December 21 , 2006 President Bush signed H . R . 1492 into law guaranteeing $ 38 , 000 , 000 in federal money to restore the Gila River relocation center along with nine other former Japanese internment camps .