The Town of Manzanar

The Town of Manzanar. . , "A wonderful community atmosphere - picnics in the cottonwood grove, Christmas programs, and ice cream socials - brought everyone together in kindred spirit." , , Gladys Graham Branson, former Manzanar town resident. , , Step back in time along this road to the early 20th century fruit-growing community that once occupied this area and gave Manzanar its name. In 1910, developer George Chaffey started the town as part of a 3,000-acre agricultural community. By 1920, Manzanar was an oasis of fragrant orchards, hay fields, and gardens. Two hundred people lived here then, many on irrigated farm parcels along this road. Fifty children attended the grammar school that stood to the west. It had "two rooms and two outside conveniences [toilets], plus a shed for the horses," recalled former student Dorothy Lydston Gates. , , A short walk east brings you to Manzanar's town center. Still visible is the rock-lined basement of Bandhauer's General Store, where residents traded farm produce for dry goods and mailed letters at the post office inside. You could buy gas at the garage across the highway and cold cider at the fruit stand nearby. The big community hall housed a library and was the the scene of weddings, funerals, and church services. Potluck suppers and old-time dancing often filled the hall with music and laughter far into the night. Packing crews later used it to process tons of Manzanar apples, pears, and peaches to ship across the country. , , Advertisements for the Manzanar fruit-growing venture had promised the Lydstons, Wilders, and other families "Fortunes in Apples." But as Los Angeles began buying land and water rights in 1924, many owners sold - some willingly, others under duress - and left. Although others leased back their land and continued farming, the community slowly declined. By the late 1930s, there was little left at Manzanar except abandoned orchards and roads.