Vanport, Oregon
was hastily built in 1943 as thousands of workers moved to the area to take up
jobs in the wartime seaports. Forty thousand workers took residence in the
town, which grew from shanty structures to massive public housing in a few
short years. At its peak it was the second largest city in Oregon but after the
war, the population dropped to just over eighteen thousand. But for the African
Americans who stayed, it was a place to call home.