Living conditions and health services
For generations, the people of South El Paso have worked to improve their lives, facing enormous challenges. Beginning in the early 20th century, poverty, low paying jobs, a lack of city services, and neglect by landlords led to harsh and often dangerous living conditions. Before 1910, the streets of the south side remained unpaved so when it rained or flooded, the streets would turn into muddy rivers. At the turn of the twentieth century, the people of el Segundo Barrio suffered from a lack of a good water supply, a lack of heat, and little city sanitation. While city streets north of Oregon were paved, el Segundo Barrio remained unpaved. Rains and winds created unhealthy conditions. In the earliest years of the barrio, the neighborhood lacked water pumps and many families were forced to bathe and wash clothes in the Rio Grande.
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| Water hydrant which served 15 families (1949) Russell Lee Collection |
| “These people may be poor, but they are human beings,
entitled to humane treatment; and you gentlemen will agree with me that it is
not right that the alleys around their homes should be made a dumping ground for
the trash and filth gathered from the streets of this city.”
Dr. J. A. Samaniego appearing before the City Council
in 1910 (Quoted in Mario T. Garcia, Desert Immigrants)
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Attempts to force landlords to improve the South side were often filled with contention. In 1905, for example, the City Council discussed the building of sewer lines in South El Paso, urging property owners to pay for the improvements. One “American” landlord disagreed, saying that renting to Mexican families created no profit so the Mexican renters rather than the American landowners should be responsible. In the end, the City Council ordered that sewer lines should be paid for by both the property owners and the Mexican renters.
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| Tenement houses, southern section of El Paso (1949) Russell Lee Collection, Center for American History, UT Austin
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Tenements, which city officials had encouraged property owners to build during the 1910s in order to house the growing Mexican population, quickly deteriorated and families crowded into unsafe and unsanitary apartments. These conditions existed throughout the twentieth century. Poverty made it difficult for families to move and landlords saw little need to keep up their buildings. Crowded living conditions led to the spread of diseases and a high infant mortality rate in el Segundo Barrio. Churches, the City and non-profits responded to the barrio’s health needs over the course of thee twentieth century. In 1912, the Rose Gregory Houchen Settlement House began offering medical care to the people of el Segundo Barrio. These services expanded over the years and in 1937 the Newark Methodist Maternity Hospital opened. Over 12,000 babies were born at the hospital in its first forty years and today many El Pasoans claim Newark Maternity Hospital as their place of birth. Newark continued to function until 1986.
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| Man repairing his shoes, South El Paso, 1949
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| Russell Lee Collection, Center for American History, UT Austin
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The City also provided health services to the people of el Segundo Barrio.
| “In 1935 I went to work for the City Health Department
in Public Health and worked for almost 33 years there. I retired the 1st of
April of 1968…I worked under Dr. Rollins, who was so charitable and a great
physician. He used to go out and deliver babies in the houses for five dollars,
and usually took a nurse along to help him. We had so many things to improvise:
using orange crates to make little furniture pieces, cradles; coffee cans for
potties for the babies... Oh, so many things. And, of course, we dispensed the
free milk to the people.”
Margaret Candelaria, interviewed in 1976 Institute of
Oral History, UTEP
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El Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe began operations in 1967, incorporating two years later. In the decades that followed, the work of the early activists who founded La Fe has borne fruit.
| “I’ve been fortunate to see the work of La Fe develop
over time. I was involved with the non-profit corporation out of Washington,
D.C., that helped La Fe become incorporated in 1969. The clinic was then
operating out of a two-room tenement with a single bare light bulb hanging from
the ceiling. Everything involved with the clinic the first four years was
voluntary. We received donations from pharmaceutical companies and had dinners
to raise money for equipment.”
Pete T. Duarte, one of the founders of La Fe, 1988
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