Before World War II, many Japanese-Americans had...

Before World War II, many Japanese-Americans had established roots in the lush agricultural fields of the San Gabriel Valley.

Many of them farmed, growing vegetables, fruits and flowers. Others opened grocery stores and other businesses in places such as Arcadia and West Covina.

Laws prevented first-generation Japanese immigrants from owning property, so many farmers leased land from Anglos. Their American-born children attended public schools, played on athletic teams, and learned judo and kendo.

But, for most, everything was lost about 50 years ago, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which led to the forcible removal of all Japanese-Americans from the West Coast. Many families in the San Gabriel Valley were sent to Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming; others went

to Manzanar in central California.

The history of Japanese-American settlers in the San Gabriel Valley is documented in 45 photographs on display at the El Monte Historical Museum. Also included are photos of Japanese-Americans who died in combat while fighting for the U.S. Army’s famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team during the war.

“I’m trying to show people that before the war, this was all farmland run by Japanese,” said West Covina resident Bacon Sakatani, whose family grew produce in El Monte before they were interned at Heart Mountain. “We’ve been here a long time, since the early 1900s. We’re not recent newcomers.”

The museum, at 3150 North Tyler Ave., is open Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.