Mexican North Texas

I keep referring to Mexican North Texas as if everyone reading my articles knew what I was

talking about. North Texas was sparsely populated. North Texas was the realm of the

Comanche.

Installation of the railroad in North Texas was part of a greater scheme of connecting all of

Texas by rail and eventually northern, eastern and western parts of the US. Businessmen wanted

to expedite the movement of goods from one part of the county to another. Businessmen thought

that a southern route would be much faster than the northern transcontinental route. Building the

railroad in South Texas was less challenging than North Texas. In South Texas, most of the

railroad was built in small stretches and manpower was available locally. North Texas was more

challenging because the railroad had to be built over desolate, barren land that was still

controlled by Comanche and labor had to be imported.

Most of the American settlers to North Texas were mom and pop farmers that had been given

land by the railroads. After the Civil War there were a more immigrants to North Texas mainly

from South, North, East Coast and Europe.

There was a pattern through settlement of North Texas by Mexicans. This pattern resulted from a

need for skilled manpower. Mexico was an easy source of manpower because he was nearby and

everybody spoke Spanish.

Starting in the mid-1870’s, there was a need for men to install the railroad tracks. Mexicans were

recruited. There was a tendency for Mexicans to come work on the railroad make a few dollars

and go back to Mexico to stop this tendency the railroad decided to let Mexicans bring their

family. Railroad cars were converted to homes.

They imported labor came from Mexico. While several different nationalities may have worked

on the railroad there was this concern about language. Railroad workers were organized into

teams. Teams spoke the same language for safety and efficiency. The work was back breaking

and dangerous. Workers were hurt. Those that were injured had a choice, return to Mexico and

stay. Many opted to stay. That is probably why in 1880 there is a Cavazos in Somervell, s

dishwasher in Fort Worth, Juan Carrion a cook, Andrew Garcia a dishwasher, a boarder, Angel

Gonzalez a cook, Oscar Martin and his wife were doing farm work, Angel Garcia and Clemente

Gonzalez were doing farm work, unknown was doing odd jobs, 7 doing farm work, Cattle

Herder. This extracted from Ancestry.

Prior to 1880 the only mode of transportation available to North Texas was the train. Walking,

horseback, mule, wagon train would be extremely hazardous. Some tried to hitch a ride on the

train. They ended up in jail.

The first thing to be laid was the telegraph usually 10 miles ahead of the main body of work.

The main body of work consisted of men, materials, boxcars and horses. The horses would pull

the cars that carried the material. The men would work all day and at night sleep in the cars.

This was the start of the boxcar community. After the track was laid railroad workers were

detailed as section gangs every certain 10 miles to maintain the tracks. In the 1910 section gangs

are scattered throughout North Texas. The railroads were a form of transportation south.

Members of section gangs were allowed to bring their families. Businessmen always thought

that stable families would lead to more productive workers.

It is fascinating to write about the history of the Mexican in North Texas and not attribute the

history to the Mexican Revolution as a cause for the presence of Mexicans in North Texas.

After the railroad workers came the coal miners. They too were recruited in Mexico. In the front

page we have a picture of Marcos Duarte. His union card dated Oct 20, 1918, states that he has

30 years mining experience. Marcos and his brother Miguel were working the Minera mine in

Webb County in 1900. By 1910 they were both working the mine in Bridgeport.

The picturesque and historical town of Bridgeport is located about 50 miles north of Fort Worth

and west of Decatur. The history of Mexicanos in North Texas begins here. The picture of

Marcos Duarte I obtained from the Bridgeport Heritage Museum.

Other coal mining towns were Thurber, Rock Creek, Lyra and Strawn. Thurber is now a ghost

town, Rock Creek and Lyra disappeared, and Strawn is famous for Mary's Café. For more

information visit the museum at Bridgeport. They have a yearly coal miner day celebration.

The coal mines were shut down when oil was discovered at Ranger. Mexicans were also

recruited to work with cornfields at Post.

In 1954 when the cotton-picking machine appeared many Tejanos stayed in North Texas.