Fort Missoula Barrack Building

In 1941, Nick D. Collaer of the Immigration and Naturalization Service was assigned to establish internment camps for Italians and German sailors at Fort Missoula and Fort Lincoln, North Dakota. When he arrived at Fort Missoula, many structures needed extensive repairs, and with over 1,000 Italian seamen en route, he had to quickly update the fort to meet Immigration and Naturalization Service standards. Many of the earliest arrivals were housed in pre-existing buildings, but there was not enough room for the number of men who would eventually be imprisoned there. By May 1941, sixteen wood-framed barracks buildings like this one had been shipped to the fort, and another fourteen were completed by August. Many of the early arriving Italians assisted in constructing these buildings, and Japanese American internees were also moved into this style of barrack upon their arrival. Following Immigration and Naturalization Service standards, the barracks held forty to sixty men, giving each man forty square feet of living space, and were outfitted with military-style bunks.

Missoula, Montana · United States