The Assembly Center

Pinedale Assembly Center, California

This assembly center was located 8 miles north of downtown Fresno on vacant land near an existing mill-workers housing area. The area is now within the Fresno city limits, north of Herndon Road 1 mile west of Blackstone Avenue.

Occupied from May 7 to July 23, the Pinedale Assembly Center housed a total of 4,823 evacuees, with a maximum of 4,792 at a time. The evacuees were from Sacramento and El Dorado counties, and Oregon and Washington. Ten barracks blocks, each with 26 buildings, were constructed for the evacuees, and a separate block was built for the military police and administration.

The large industrial/warehouse complex visible in the 1942 aerial photograph is still present, which provided confirmation of the assembly center location. However, the site of the assembly center is now a subdivision; the architectural style and mature vegetation suggest the housing development dates to the 1950s or 1960s. There is no historical marker at the site. Subdivision roads appear to generally follow the assembly center roads.