1. Things you might not know about
El Paso
Unless you attend this session

2. By:
Kevin Collier
Erika Liebel
Saul Martinez

3. El Paso: 1880’s-1910

5. Sin City
“Sporting Center” – Gambling, dance halls & prostitution
“Vice for a Price”
“The Line”

6. El Paso Herald
"Here amid the clinking of beer glasses and vulgarity, drunken men, reeling and yelling, danced with Mexican women to the strains of the devil's music, staggering between the dances to the bar for liquid refreshments and enthusiasm. Women, long since sunk from respectability, joined the terrible brawl. Hair streaming in masses of disorder, dresses rent by the yanking and howling of the intoxicated men, and lending their shrill voices to complete the chaos of debauchery. Here and there were stretched out men overcome with liquor, while the wooden benches surrounding the apartment were occupied by burly sons of toil holding upon their laps these women of prostitution."

7. “Six Shooter Capitol”
Guns
Gambling
Gunfighters

8. “Sin City”
Lariats
Lawmen
Ladies

9. The Guns Winchester Rifle Coach Gun Colt Peacemaker
Smith & Wesson No. 3

10. The Gambling
Saloons
Faro
Poker
Dice

11. The Gunfighters
John Selman
Billy the Kid
John Wesley Hardin

12. More Gunfighters
Sam Bass
Butch Cassidy
Sundance Kid

13. The Cowboys

14. The Lawmen
Pat Garrett
Texas Rangers
Dallas Stoudenmire

15. More Lawmen? Bass L. Outlaw ? John Selman Sr. ? George Scarbrough ?
El Paso Constable
US Deputy Marshall
Texas Ranger

16. The Ladies
The Big Five

17. Tillie Howard Arrived early 1890’s Mansion on “The Line”
Poor German immigrant
Orphaned young
Rode the rails for years
Kind-hearted, well-mannered
Died April 9, 1911

18. Gypsy Davenport New York Native Raised in Davenport, Iowa
1894 – Framed Alice Abbott
Lawsuit – Alice wins back property
Unscrupulous business practices
Disappeared after 1900
Returned to El Paso in 1920 to settle property
Died January 22, 1920 of morphine addiction and edema

19. May Palmer Born 1867 – Wealthy Chicago Family
Mary Elizabeth Eisenmenger
Lucrative brothels – Chicago, Salt Lake City, Tucson
Opened Madame Palmer’s Gentlemen’s Club on Utah St
Married James Harlan “Pete” Adams
Died March 24, 1918 of pancreatic and pelvic cancer
Buried in El Paso’s Evergreen Cemetery

20. “Big Alice” Abbott Arrived with RR – 1881- age 27
Thought to be from Kentucky
Reasons for coming to El Paso – unknown
6’ tall, 195 lbs
Owned Mansion on Utah St
Died April 7, 1896

21. Etta Clark The “Pistolier of 1886” Voluptuous, hot-tempered, red head
Prominent French-Canadian family
Mansion across from Big Alice

22. The Stories - 1886 Hired girls away from other madams
Tension and Anger between Madams
Bessie Colvin – left Alice
Alice “stormed” to Etta’s house
Etta shot Alice
El Paso Herald “Public” Arch Story
Sensational Trial
Case dropped
Etta Clark’s Parlor

23. 2 Years Later Evidence inconclusive Alice released – No consequences
Alice burns Etta’s house down
Evidence inconclusive
Alice released – No consequences

24. Results Paved Streets Salaries for Police and other Civic Officials
Public Library
Philanthropic Activities
Theaters
Gentlemen’s Clubs - Business

25. Mexican Revolution and El Paso

26. Mexican Revolution

27. Three Presidents
Francisco Madero
Venustiano Carranza
Porfirio Diaz

28. Three Revolutionaries
Francisco “Pancho” Villa
Emiliano Zapata
Pascual Orozco

29. Three Generals
Victoriano Huerta
John Pershing
Alvaro Obregón

30. Alhambra Theater (209 S. El Paso St.)
Catered to Mexican exile community

31. Shelton-Payne Arms Company (Merrick Building, 301 S. El Paso St.)
Supplied arms and ammunition to all factions of the revolution.

32. La Patria Newspaper (317 S. El Paso St.)
Silvestre Terrazas operated revolutionary newspaper
Helped Pancho Villa smuggle arms
1914 Villa appointed Terrazas interim governor of Chihuahua

33. Teatro Alcazar (506 S. El Paso St.)
Owners Ike & Frank Alderete stored weapons in basement for Huertistas
Alderetes, Pascual Orozco & Victoriano Huerta were tried in Federal Courthouse in El Paso for violating US neutrality laws.

34. El Paso Laundry (901 S. Santa Fe St.)
Rooftop provided front-row seats for major revolution battles
Bullet holes in walls
Presidents William Taft and Porfirio Diaz met in front and were given keys to the city

35. El Paso del Norte Newspaper (609 S. Oregon St.)
This newspaper disseminated the propaganda of the revolution from to El Paso’s Spanish speaking community

36. Caples Building (300 S. San Antonio St.)
1911 Francisco Madero used offices as the official headquarters of the Revolution
Pancho Villa was recruited by Chihuahua Governor Abraham Gonzalez from this office.

37. Elite Confectionary (201 N. Mesa St.)
1911 Pancho Villa and Pascual Orozco sat for the last photo of them together.
Villa visited this establishment daily and ordered chocolate-covered ice cream baseballs and strawberry soda during his exile in the US

38. Roberts-Banner Building (114-120 Mills St.)
1912 housed more than 200 Mexican spies working for 3 different agencies under the direction of Sgt Powell Roberts

39. Anson Mills Building (303 N. Oregon St.)
Rooftop provided a “safe” place to watch the revolutionary activities
1913 Junta headquarters for constructionalistas
Huertista federal forces threatened to blow up the building if the US granted Pancho Villa permission to import arms to Mexico

40. Popular Dry Goods Company (301 San Antonio St.)
Provided non-munition supplies to both sides of the revolution
Once both revolutionaires and federales were shopping at the same time in the store.

41. Toltec Club (602 Magoffin Ave.)
Francisco Madero was toastmaster in 1913
Victory banquet for Madero in 1911
Pancho Villa rented 1st floor for smuggling munitions

42. Sacred Heart Church (610 S. Oregon St.)
1912 Orozquistas counterrevolutionaries kidnapped Fr Carlos Pinto – demanded $3000, then $2000, then $500 finally Fr Pinto paid $100 for his own release.

43. Civil Rights In
El Paso

44. 1866-1877 Salt War Denied Access to salt
Texas Rangers side with Anglos

45. 1888 Dr Ida Bishop was first woman to practice medicine in Texas
The Sheldon Building housed Dr Bishop’s office until 1910

46. 1915 First NAACP branch established in Texas, El Paso
Became civil rights advocate after 10 lynchings – 1909

47. 1921 C.C. Kellog set up 1st KKK office in the Sheldon Hotel
Anglos became frightened by anti-American sentiment in Mexico after the Revolution
Klan controlled the Herald Post & published an editorial on the Klan’s goals in El Paso
Focused on eliminating crime
Klan members ran for the school board
Renamed schools after Texas heroes.

48. 1924 Lawrence Nixon denied right to vote in primary election
1927 Nixon v Herndon (Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes)
1932 Nixon v Condon (Justice Benjamin Cardozo)
July 22, 1944 Finally voted in primary

49. 1955-1956 TWC 1st Public University to admit blacks (Thelma White)
TWC 1st University in the Confederate South to allow African-Americans to play a major sport (Charlie Brown)

50. 1957
Raymond Telles elected 1st Hispanic mayor of a major city in the US
Ambassador to Honduras

51. 1961
TWC trains first Peace Corps volunteer

52. 1962
Bert Williams introduces first Anti-discrimination law in public places in Texas (US)
2 years before Civil Rights Act was enacted in US

53. 1966 TWC 1st major University to start an all African –American lineup
Defeated all white U. Kentucky team
Don Haskins
NCAA basketball champions

54. 1968 El Paso based golfer Lee Trevino wins US Open
First minority to win a major golf championship

55. 1970 Chesley Karr sues EPISD
Denied enrollment due to hair below collar
US Supreme Court sided with Karr
Set precedent against Uniform policy

56. 1971 MECHA members take over UTEP Administration Building
Chicano studies dept. established
1st Mexican-American faculty hired

57. 1981
El Paso native Sandra Day O’Connor appointed 1st woman on US Supreme Court

58. 2009 Homosexual couple ousted from local eatery for kissing in public
El Paso City Council approves anti-discrimination ban on sexual orientation by businesses open to the public

59. 2010
July – Gay and unmarried heterosexual partners of city employees given benefits by city council
Nov – Voters rescind benefits to gay and unmarried heterosexual partners

60. Contact Us kmcollie@episd.org eliebel@episd.org smartine@episd.org
Power point available at:
(power point presentations – El Paso Presentation)

61. References (El Paso )
Abernathy, FE. (1994) Legendary Ladies of Texas, Issue 53. pp Texas Folklore Society/Nacodoches, Texas.

62. References (Mexican Revolution)
Metz, L El Paso Chronicles; A record of historical events in El Paso, Texas.
Romo, D Ringside Seat to a Revolution; An underground cultural history of El Paso and Juarez:
Worthington, P Images of America; El Paso and the Mexican Revolution.

63. References (Civil Rights)