Migrant Labor Camps of Lubbock County

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Migrant Labor Camps of Lubbock County. Let me take you back to the frontier days of Lubbock County, when the South Plains were still being stitched together by sweat and ambition. The earliest Hispanic residents out here were ranch hands, workin' the land as far back as the 1880s.

That's where this story begins — not with a single dramatic moment, but with a long, slow tide of human movement that would shape this city for generations to come. When the railroad lines pushed their way onto the South Plains, they needed workers, and they needed a lot of them. The majority were recruited out of El Paso.

Rail companies built row houses right up next to their construction sites, and those labor camps became something more than temporary shelter — they became home. Communities took root. One of the early settlements southwest of town went by the name Shipley's Railroad Camp.

People put down what roots they could. Cotton came next. It started as a side crop on area ranches, but as production grew, it pulled in more and more seasonal labor.

A field labor camp developed near the Slaton roundhouse. Cotton pickers arrived from south Texas and Mexico, riding the seasonal migration circuit, though some managed to find year-round ranch work and stayed on. At its peak, this migration stretched across the whole county — large labor camps along every major highway into Lubbock.

Inside the city limits, a barrio took shape, known as Mexican Town, or sometimes the Chihuahua District. Standard homes were tents or simple structures. The neighborhood was poverty-ridden and overcrowded.

That's not editorializing — that's what the record shows. And then came the Great Depression, which had a way of turning hard lives into nearly impossible ones, particularly for the working poor. On top of economic ruin, Hispanic citizens and Mexican migrants faced segregated facilities — schools, theaters, restaurants.

The barriers were everywhere and they were deliberate. Now here's a detail that ought to sit with you for a minute. In 1948, the city council paid for a corrugated metal building at the largest camp — not as housing, not as a school, but as a labor recruiting site.

The community had been here for decades by then, and what the city decided to invest in was a way to keep the labor flowing. Then May 1970 arrived, and a tornado tore through the neighborhood and destroyed much of it. Twenty-six people were killed.

Nearly half of those were barrio residents. That is not a footnote. That is a wound.

But here's the other side of the ledger, and it matters just as much. By the year 2000, Hispanics made up about one-third of Lubbock's city population, and one-half of the public school enrollment. The city by then also boasted dozens of Hispanic organizations — advocating for business, civil rights, leadership, families, the arts, youth, and education.

That's not a community that faded away. That's a community that endured. Today, Aztlan Park stands on the site of that former migrant labor camp.

The tents are gone. The corrugated metal building is gone. What remains is a park, and a marker, and the long memory of everyone who called that ground home.

What the marker says

Early Hispanic residents of frontier Lubbock County included ranch hands in the 1880s. Railroad lines brought many workers to the South Plains, the majority recruited from El Paso. Rail companies built row houses near construction sites, and Lubbock’s rail labor camps became ethnic enclaves for Hispanic workers. One of the early settlements southwest of town was called Shipley’s Railroad Camp. Cotton raising, which began as a side crop on area ranches, also attracted temporary labor as production increased. One field labor camp developed near the Slaton roundhouse. Cotton pickers from south Texas and Mexico arrived in a seasonal migration, although some found year-round ranch work. While on the migration circuit, Hispanic citizens lived in large labor camps throughout the county and along every major highway into Lubbock. In the city, a barrio called “Mexican Town” or the “Chihuahua District” developed in this locale. Standard homes were tents or simple structures, and the neighborhood was poverty-ridden and overcrowded. The Great Depression worsened living conditions for most residents but especially for the working poor. Mexican migrants and Hispanic citizens also faced segregated facilities including schools, theaters and restaurants. In 1948 the city council paid for a corrugated metal building at the largest camp as a labor recruiting site. In May 1970, a tornado destroyed much of the neighborhood, and of the twenty-six people killed nearly half were barrio residents. By 2000, Hispanics made up about one-third of the city population and one-half of the public school enrollment. Lubbock also boasted dozens of Hispanic organizations advocating for business, civil rights, leadership, families, the arts, youth and education. Aztlan Park is the site of the former migrant labor camp. (2008)