Tule Lake was the largest and longest-lived of the ten camps built by the civilian War Relocation Authority (WRA) to house Japanese Americans relocated from the west coast of the United States under the terms of Executive Order 9066. More historic buildings survive at Tule Lake than at any of the other relocation centers. The extant stockade jail, large sections of the original barbed wire fence, and many of the buildings constructed to house the military police survive to testify to the high security that defined the segregation center. Penciled graffiti inscribed by imprisoned evacuees survives in the jail. An almost unaltered recreation building and a complex of industrial buildings also survive; there are few examples of either building type remaining at any of the other relocation centers. This relocation center was designated a National Historic Landmark in February, 2006 for its national importance in the historic context of Japanese Americans in World War II. - NPS