Terminal Island, historically known as Isla Raza de Buena Gente, is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington and San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles,[1] and the city of Long Beach.

During this time the "Father of the Harbor" Phineas Banning,[4] held deed to roughly 18 acres of land on Rattlesnake Island.

[7]: 57 In 1930, the Ford Motor Company built a facility called Long Beach Assembly, having moved earlier operations from Downtown Los Angeles.

Many of these immigrants first arrived in Santa Monica with the hopes of creating a community there, but after their town was burned to the ground in 1916, they found their home at Terminal Island.

[12] Growing fishing interests in San Pedro's White Point and Terminal Island led many Japanese to become sought after due to their skill as fishermen, and connections to the canning industry.

One such example was the actions of Kihei Nasu (a bilingual intellectual) that was hired by the SCJFA to write a report refuting recent attempts by Senator James D. Phelan of California that the Japanese were driving out American fishermen.

[12]While the report was not delivered in person to Congress, it reveals the challenges the community faced and their persistence in fighting back.

The lands of Fish Harbor were owned by the City of Los Angeles, and leased out to the respective canning companies, who in turn, built workers housing.

On December 7, 1941, the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii was attacked in a surprise air raid by the Japanese Navy, which affected the United States’ relationships with Japan and its citizens.

As U.S.-Japanese relations frayed further in the late 1930s and early 1940s, nativist organizations raised new questions about the loyalty of Japanese Americans living in the country.

Immediately after Executive Order 9066 was authorized, Japanese Americans of Terminal Island were among the first groups to be forcibly removed from their homes.

[14] Terminal Island was a fishing village, located next to a United States Navy facility, which ultimately resulted in the Japanese Americans becoming fishermen.

As a result of their occupation and location, they were accused of being spies for the Japanese army through the use of depth meters and fishing equipment, prior to the attack.

The Justice Department and the Office of Naval Intelligence claimed that the fishermen had the ability to contact enemy vessels with their boats, radios, and equipment.

[15] The FBI raided the homes of the Japanese Americans and searched for contraband which included, radios, flashlights, cameras, and morse code telegraph machines.

[14] Terminal Island is now protected under a perseveration plan established by the Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners, so the struggle and history are not forgotten.During World War II, Terminal Island was an important center for defense industries, especially shipbuilding; the first California Shipbuilding Corporation shipyard was established there in 1941.

In 1946, Howard Hughes moved his monstrous Spruce Goose airplane from his plant in Culver City to Terminal Island in preparation for its test flight.

Aerospace company SpaceX is initially leasing 12.4 acres (5.0 ha) from the Port of Los Angeles on the island at Berth 240.

SpaceX has been building and testing its planned Starship crewed space transportation system intended for suborbital, orbital and interplanetary flight in Texas.

The new SpaceX rocket, too large to be transported for long distances overland, will be shipped to the company's launch area in Florida or Texas by sea, via the Panama Canal.

The Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge joins Terminal Island with the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington to the north.