El Cerrito in Contra Costa County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
The Japanese in El Cerrito, a Timeline
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
1. The Japanese in El Cerrito Marker - 1
Inscription.
The Japanese in El Cerrito, a Timeline. . , 1885 First Domoto nursery opens in Oakland. The Domotos pioneer California's Japanese American nursery industry and create its wholesale market.
1902 Yataro Nabeta founds the first Japanese American nursery in Contra Costa County, near the corner of Potrero Avenue and Eastshore Boulevard.
1908 The U.S. and Japan negotiate the "Gentlemen's Agreement." Japan agrees to prohibit future emigration to the U.S.
1912 Japanese American flower growers incorporate the California Flower Market. It becomes a major factor in the growers' success.
1913 The California Alien Land Law declare that "aliens ineligible for citizenship," essentially all Asians, may not own land.
1917 City of El Cerrito is incorporated. This draws a boundary that had not previously existed through the middle of Japanese American nurseries.
1924 The U.S. Government enacts the Immigration Act. It prohibits all Asians from immigrating to the U.S.
February 1942 President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 provides the military with the authority to remove all persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.
April 1942 The U.S. Army issues Exclusion Order 19, forcing the entire Japanese American community to leave El Cerrito and eventually move to concentration camps far inland.
1942 The Downer Family, founders of Mechanic's Bank, begins helping Japanese American customers and holds their mortgages. No Japanese nursery customer lost their property during the war.
1944 The Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team deploys to Europe. Their unit becomes one of the most decorated in U.S. military history.
1945 World War II ends.
1983 Newly discovered documents indicate that the U.S. Government suppressed evidence and made false statements on World War II Japanese American incarceration.
1988 The U.S. Government apologizes for World War II Japanese American incarcertation and offers redress.
2011 The U.S. Government formally acknowledges its errors prosecuting Fred Korematsu. El Cerrito honors the memory of Fred Korematsu on January 30, 2011. ,
1885 First Domoto nursery opens in Oakland. The Domotos pioneer California's Japanese American nursery industry and create its wholesale market.
1902 Yataro Nabeta founds the first Japanese American nursery in Contra Costa County, near the corner of Potrero Avenue and Eastshore Boulevard.
1908 The U.S. and Japan negotiate the "Gentlemen's Agreement." Japan agrees to prohibit future emigration to the U.S.
1912 Japanese American flower growers incorporate the California Flower Market. It becomes a major factor in the growers' success.
1913 The California Alien Land Law declare that "aliens ineligible for citizenship," essentially all Asians, may not own land.
1917 City of El Cerrito is incorporated. This draws a boundary that had not previously existed through the middle of Japanese American nurseries.
1924 The U.S. Government enacts the Immigration Act. It prohibits all Asians from immigrating to the U.S.
February 1942 President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066 provides the military with the authority to remove all persons of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast.
April 1942 The U.S. Army issues Exclusion Order 19, forcing the entire Japanese American community to leave El Cerrito and eventually move to concentration camps far inland.
1942
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The Downer Family, founders of Mechanic's Bank, begins helping Japanese American customers and holds their mortgages. No Japanese nursery customer lost their property during the war.
1944 The Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team deploys to Europe. Their unit becomes one of the most decorated in U.S. military history.
1945 World War II ends.
1983 Newly discovered documents indicate that the U.S. Government suppressed evidence and made false statements on World War II Japanese American incarceration.
1988 The U.S. Government apologizes for World War II Japanese American incarcertation and offers redress.
2011 The U.S. Government formally acknowledges its errors prosecuting Fred Korematsu. El Cerrito honors the memory of Fred Korematsu on January 30, 2011.
Location. 37° 54.909′ N, 122° 18.662′ W. Marker is in El Cerrito, California, in Contra Costa County. Marker is on San Pablo Avenue south of Manila Avenue, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: El Cerrito CA 94530, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. The marker consists of 15 inscibed pavers arranged chronologically in a strip along the east side of San Pablo Avenue.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
3. The Japanese in El Cerrito Marker - 3
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
4. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 4
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
5. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 5
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
6. The Japanese in El Cerrito, a Timeline Marker - 6
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
7. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 7
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
8. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 8
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
9. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 9
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
10. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 10
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
11. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 11
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
12. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 12
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
13. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 13
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
14. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 14
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
15. The Japanese in El Cerrito - 15
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
16. The Japanese in El Cerrito, a Timeline Marker - wide view, looking north on San Pablo
The inscribed paver are visible here on the gold stipe on the sidewalk.
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, February 29, 2020
17. The Japanese in El Cerrito, a Timeline Marker - wide view, looking south on San Pablo
Credits. This page was last revised on July 24, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 2, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 460 times since then and 58 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. submitted on July 24, 2020, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
