Japanese Americans built Pike Place Market from day one – Seattle erased them in 1942

Japanese Farmers’ Expulsion from Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market began with Japanese farmers who ran 80% of its stalls by 1907. Yet they faced harsh bias, with four pleas to the city council in the 1910s going unheard.

Still, they grew 75% of King County’s food by 1940. Then came the blow.

In 1942, President Roosevelt signed Order 9066, and these farmers were torn from their stalls. Some wore "I am American" buttons as they were sent to camps.

The market crumbled, with vendor permits falling from 515 to just 53 by 1949.

Today, Pike Place Market holds this painful story in its walls, marked by cherry trees and a five-panel mural that honors those who built it.

Japanese Farmers Ran Most Market Stalls From Day One

Pike Place Market opened on August 17, 1907, with Japanese farmers among the first sellers. By November, these hard-working folks ran between 70-80% of all market stalls.

They came to America for lumber and railroad jobs but found better chances in farming. They leased land across King County and brought new farming methods that grew more crops.

Seattle shoppers lined up to buy vegetables they’d never seen before.

Market Officials Pushed Japanese Vendors To Worst Locations

Despite making up most vendors, Japanese farmers faced constant unfair treatment at Pike Place Market. Managers gave them the worst stall spots while white farmers got prime locations.

Between 1910 and 1919, angry Japanese vendors filed four separate complaints with the Seattle City Council. They asked for fair treatment in stall assignments.

The City Council ignored every complaint, letting the unfair system continue. Japanese farmers still grew their businesses through hard work and good prices.

King County’s Food Supply Depended On Japanese Farmers

By 1940, Japanese American farmers grew 75% of all produce in King County. At Pike Place Market, they ran about two-thirds of all stalls by 1941.

Most families built farming businesses on rented land since Washington laws stopped them from owning property. They created successful farms despite legal barriers and unfair treatment.

Their success made white competitors jealous. Few Seattle folks realized how much they relied on these farmers until they suddenly disappeared.

Roosevelt’s Executive Order Changed Everything Overnight

President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, giving the military power to remove anyone from certain areas. The order targeted Japanese Americans after the Pearl Harbor attack.

Military leaders quickly marked the entire West Coast as an exclusion zone, affecting about 120,000 Japanese Americans. Japanese farmers at Pike Place Market learned they would be forced to leave Seattle.

They had just weeks to close businesses some had run for over 30 years.

Farmers Arrested While Selling Vegetables

In spring 1942, federal agents and military police showed up at Pike Place Market and arrested Japanese farmers at their stalls. Vendors got no warning as officers pulled them away from customers and family.

Many wore buttons saying "I am an American" to protest their treatment.

The arrested farmers left everything behind – crates of fresh produce, equipment, and account books. Some tried to sell what they could in their final moments, offering big discounts to regular customers.

Families Sold Everything For Pennies On The Dollar

Japanese families rushed to sell farms, businesses, homes, and belongings with just days to prepare. Buyers swooped in, knowing sellers had to accept rock-bottom prices.

A $5,000 farm might sell for $500 or less as families faced tight deadlines. Some asked white friends to store their things, though much was later stolen or never returned.

Families who rented farmland lost even those rights as landlords quickly rented to white farmers. Years of work vanished as families packed only what they could carry.

The Fairgrounds Became A Prison Camp

About 7,000 Japanese Americans from Seattle ended up at the Puyallup Fairgrounds, called "Camp Harmony" by officials.

Families lived in old livestock stalls that still smelled of animals, sleeping on straw mattresses with sheets for privacy. Guards with rifles watched the fences while families waited to move to permanent camps.

Parents tried to create normal routines for confused children.

They set up schools in exhibition halls and planned activities while living in horse stalls and cattle barns.

Train Rides To Idaho Felt Like Criminal Transfers

Families boarded trains with covered windows, unable to see where they were going on the long trip to Idaho. Armed guards watched each car during the journey from Seattle to the desert.

Passengers couldn’t leave the crowded cars at stops and used bathrooms under guard. The summer heat made the packed cars miserable.

Older folks and small children suffered most during the cramped ride with limited food, water, and medical help. Many felt like criminals though they had done nothing wrong.

Desert Barracks Became Home For Years

Minidoka War Relocation Center in Idaho held over 13,000 Japanese Americans behind barbed wire fences with guard towers.

Seattle market vendors lived in quickly built barracks covered with tarpaper that barely protected them from harsh desert weather. Winter temps dropped below freezing while summer heat topped 100 degrees.

Dust blew through cracks in the thin walls. People planted gardens, started a newspaper, formed baseball teams, and created schools.

Former vendors grew vegetables in camp to feed fellow prisoners.

The Market Nearly Collapsed Without Japanese Farmers

Farmer permits at Pike Place Market dropped from 515 in 1939 to just 196 by 1943 after Japanese vendors disappeared. By 1949, only 53 permits remained – a 90% drop from before the war.

White farmers couldn’t fill the huge gap left by Japanese growers. They lacked the skills, networks, and growing capacity Japanese farmers had built over decades.

The market struggled with empty stalls and fewer shoppers. Produce quality dropped and prices rose as skilled farmers sat in desert camps.

Market Vendors Lost Their Place In Seattle Forever

Japanese Americans left the camps starting in 1945, but more than a third chose never to return to Seattle after their treatment.

Those who came back found their farms taken over, equipment gone, and market stalls filled by others. Former Pike Place vendors faced continued discrimination as they tried to rebuild from nothing.

Most never got back into farming or selling at the market. The vibrant Japanese American farming community that once fed Seattle was permanently destroyed.

Pike Place Market limped along with fewer farmers and less diverse offerings for years afterward. The forced removal erased not just businesses but an entire community’s place in Seattle’s food system.

Visiting Pike Place Market, Seattle

Pike Place Market at 85 Pike Street tells the story of Japanese American farmers who built the market from 1907 but were forced into internment camps in 1942 under Executive Order 9066.

You can visit for free 363 days a year, with most activity from 10am to 5pm and produce vendors starting at 9am. Park at garages on Western Avenue or Alaskan Way to explore this history.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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