page_title: Chihuahuita, Texas
section_title: 1900s
hierarchical_section_title: Chihuahuita, Texas / History / 1900s
caption_attribution_description: English: Old El Paso Laundry Building in Chihuahuita.
context_page_description: Chihuahuita is a neighborhood in El Paso, Texas. It has also been known as the "First Ward." It is considered the oldest neighborhood in the city. It has also suffered through extreme poverty in its history. It is currently on the Most Endangered Historic Places list as compiled by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is located on the border of the Rio Grande at the Mexico–United States border. For most of the twentieth century, the name Chihuahuita was used to refer to all of southern El Paso, often including El Segundo Barrio. In 1991, Chihuahuita was designated as a historic district by the city of El Paso.
context_section_description: The 1910 Mexican Revolution resulted in numerous Mexicans moving north to Chihuahuita, many as refugees. Residents of Chihuahuita sympathized with the insurrectos, or revolutionaries. The majority of Mexicans settled in Chihuahuita because the housing was more affordable there. Poor sanitary conditions in the area were described by the El Paso Herald early on. Physicians, including Dr. Michael P. Schuster, husband of Eugenia Schuster, reported unhealthful conditions and advocated for improved sewage and free garbage pick-up. Many Mexican families put up with the poverty and unhealthy conditions because they believed they would be able to save enough money to return to Mexico in improved financial standing.
  Progressive-era reformers in El Paso looked to Chihuahuita as an area that needed attention. A physician, J.A. Samaniego, appealed to the city on June 16, 1910 to create trash collection in the area. The city council then followed up in July with plans for road paving and expansion of water services. The health department also identified 1,500 houses for demolition in September 1910 and that landowners, rather than tenants should be responsible for housing safety. In 1911, Chihuahuita was known country-wide for having an extremely high mortality rate, twice as high as areas in New York City. City plans in 1912 included standardizing and paving the roads and improving living conditions for residents of the neighborhood. Problems concerning infrastructure and community health in Chihuahuita were compounded by the lack of action on behalf of the city of El Paso, who made plans, but did not always follow through. The El Paso Herald wrote that the city was neglecting half of its citizens. However, another Herald article urged the city to "annex Chihuahuita," and considered the area a colony of Mexico.
  The city of El Paso proposed a program of demolishing unsuitable housing, "one block a week," in 1914. General John J. Pershing offered to clean up the area himself, and said he could introduce "modern sanitary methods." The military's presence near the area did seem to have an effect, with the El Paso Herald reporting "The cleanliness of the infantry camp and the activity of the city health officers has resulted in Chihuahuita turning over a new leaf. Chihuahuita is clean." However, in 1915, a report of the area wrote, "Probably in no place in the United States could such crude, beastly, primitive conditions be found as exist in Chihuahuita." The El Paso Herlad wrote about how it was a potential "plague spot." The Herald also described how residents were being charged high rates in exchange for substandard conditions. In 1916, the city dealt with Chihuahuita's many health and infrastructure problems by destroying much of the area's housing, displacing residents, many of whom moved back to Ciudad Juarez.
  A new tax in the form of a $5 license for manufacturers and sellers of food and food products was enacted by the city in 1917. This license forced many producers and food vendors in Chihuahuita to go out of business because it was too expensive to pay.
  Health issues in the area continued to be noticed through 1922. However, spraying pesticides targeting mosquitoes in the area in the 1930s and increased immunization rates of children in the area helped reduce the number of health issues in the area. Improvements to the area, despite being recommended by individuals such as George E. Kessler, were largely ignored by the city. As the Great Depression hit the country, the poor in Chihuahuita were also affected.
  Housing projects were built by the El Paso Housing Authority in the 1940s. Also in the 1940s and 50s, gangs of Pachucos heavily influenced Chihuahuita. Gangs such as the Canal Kids, Sinners, Las Pompas, La Chihua and the Roadblockers took over much of the area. In the 1950s, the streets of Chihuahuita were finally paved. People were still living in tenements "where as many as ten families shared a single toilet and relied on a central hydrant for water," according to Monica Perales.
  "General clean up" of the area included a
caption: Old El Paso Laundry Building in Chihuahuita.
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