Greenwood, BC Canada - World War II Sites on Waymarking.com

In 1941 the population of the City of Greenwood had dwindled to 200, from a peak of over 3,000 in the "teens", shortly before the closing of its lifeblood industry, a copper/gold smelter. When the smelter closed in 1918, the population immediately plunged, and the city narrowly avoided becoming a ghost town.

When the Japanese were being forcibly relocated, the City of Greenwood realized that this may be a blessing in disguise - an opportunity to inject new life into its economy. Accordingly, the city invited the internees to Greenwood, an invitation that was accepted by about 1100 people, more than sextupling the city's population.

A goodly number of the old and abandoned buildings in the city had been acquired by the city and were still standing and still useable, and were pressed into service as dormitories, schools, bath houses and more to house the new citizens.

It is a testament to the quality and humanity of the efforts put forth by the city that many of the internees decided to remain in Greenwood after the war, thereby helping to avert another brush with death for the city. It is significant that an inherently inhumane act, such as senselessly relocating an entire population by force, could be carried out with sufficient humanity and compassion that the victims, the internees, would, after their incarceration, choose to remain and become an integral part of the community which was previously their prison.

The building shown here, the Gulley Block, was designated Internment Building #3. It is located on the east side of Copper Street (AKA Highway 3), the last building on the south end of downtown Greenwood. It now houses the library, the Kettle River Art Club and the Legion. Here is the text from the plaque on this building:
"GULLEY BLOCK
INTERNMENT BUILDING#3
After Thomas Gulley purchased this building in 1916, for the next eleven years he sold furniture, carpets and linoleum on the main floor while operating a funeral parlour and embalming service in the basement. Thus it became known as the Gulley Block, even though it was built in 1902 as the Russell, Law and Canfield Dry Goods store.

Like many other buildings in Greenwood, when the smelter closed, the Gulley Block was abandoned and taken over by the City. The floor was cluttered with debris, and the basement funeral parlour had several remnants from its working days. In 1942 it became Building No. 3 for Japanese Canadians. Thoroughly cleaned, cubicles were then put in for family rooms and renovations made for a communal kitchen and bathhouse.

After the war and years of internment ended, Mayor W. E. McArthur and the Greenwood Community Association took on the task of turning the Gulley Block into a community centre. In 1957 they began with a
theatre on the Copper Street level, which was profitable until television made its début. At the same time the south side of the building was turned into a library and Women's Institute Hall.

As part of the 1967 Centennial, federal funding allowed renovation upstairs for a community hall, named the Centennial Hall. Downstairs was transformed into the Community Hall. The hall received a new oak floor in 1976. McArthur Centre is now the hub of community activities and home to the Legion, library and the Kettle River Art Club."

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