Topaz was a Japanese war camp. Thousands of Japanese were held here during WW2. All that remains are lots of foundations and roads. There is a sign giving more info on the place. It is just outside of Delta on the road leading to Topaz Mt. Submitted by: Kristine clawson

Topaz was one of 10 interment camps built in 1942, when all people of Japanese ancestry (most of whom were American-born citizens) were taken from their homes on the West Coast.  Of the 110,000 sent to the camps, Topaz housed about 9,000, making it the 8th largest city in Utah.  The camp closed on Halloween, 1945.

The "ghost town" is the central residential area, which took up most of one square mile (the camp itself was much larger, but most has been farmed over).  Markers on the northwest corner of the residential area explain the site and list the many soldiers who enlisted from Topaz.

Visitors can see the remains of the guard tower posts, as well as numerous building foundations and the barbed-wire fenceline.  A museum in nearby Delta features one of the original tarpaper barracks from the camp.  Trenches are left over from the removal of the metal water pipes after the war.  A number of original Topaz buildings can be seen on nearby farms, having been purchased and moved after the camp closed.

The 2006 film "American Pastime" takes a dramatized look at life in Topaz.

The site is southwest of the intersection of 4500 North and 10000 West, northwest of the town of Delta.  Signs lead to the site from US Highway 6.

Keith R. Wood