No fairs were held during World War II, although the carnivals and horse pulling events continued in the downtown area. The fairgrounds were turned over to the Wartime Civilian Control Administration, which oversaw the "evacuation" of Japanese Americans from the West Coast under the provisions of Executive Order 9066. The Turlock Assembly Center was one of fifteen temporary camps where Japanese Americans were held while the more permanent War Relocation Authority concentration camps were being constructed. Turlock opened on April 30, 1942, and a total of 3,669 Japanese Americans from the Sacramento River Delta and Los Angeles areas passed through the camp before it closed on August 12. As in several other WCCA sites, many of the inmates were housed in "apartments" that had been converted from livestock stalls, while others lived in military-style barracks.
