This dissertation explores the archaeological context prior to and following Japanese American incarceration in the United States using the materials recovered from the Redman-Hirahara Farmstead. Built at the turn of the 20th century, this property showcases one family’s unique journey navigating this tumultuous period. The Hirahara family moved into their Victorian farmstead in Watsonville, California in 1941. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on December 7th, 1941 and the United States’ entry into World War II, the Hirahara family was incarcerated at the Rohwer incarceration camp in Arkansas. Following the war, the Hiraharas returned to their farm in Watsonville where they offered another Japanese family, the Hanes, a room in their carriage barn among other displaced individuals. Until now, most archaeological research on this time period focuses exclusively on the incarceration experience. This dissertation addresses that scholarly gap by exploring how places occupied before and after the incarceration can provide invaluable perspectives on the story of Japanese American incarceration. Excavations at the farmstead in 2005 unearthed a collection of artifacts pertaining to this extended legacy of the house, presenting new lines of evidence for how incarceration may shift consumer choices, effect the material record, and overlap with the daily operations of historic west coast farmsteads. Oral narratives and archival materials further illuminate a story of survival and community at the Hirahara farmstead. Additionally, I argue that the Japantowns established in the San Francisco Bay Area during the early 1900s paved the way for this return, and it was the perseverance and community orientated members of those Japantowns that made those cities a place worth returning too. Today, the legacy of these spaces is ingrained in those communities, with monuments, historical placards, and museums documenting their roles and tremendous impact. These intertwined family stories, paired with ethnographic accounts from the region, not only reveal the many challenges the Hiraharas faced upon their return to their previous livelihoods, home, and community, but also shines light on how the ongoing presence of Japanese immigrants in the region made this return possible.