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Rio Vista Bracero Reception Center

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Mexican Braceros at the Rio Vista reception center.

Rio Vista Bracero Reception Center is a historic farm site in Socorro, Texas,[1] that served orphaned children and homeless adults of mostly Hispanic descent. The farm was created in 1915, as the El Paso Poor Farm. During the Great Depression the population grew and a variety of public welfare programs became available to farm residents. During this time through World War II, the farm was renamed Rio Vista and large numbers of neglected children were housed there. From 1950 to 1964 the farm served as a processing center for the Bracero Program which brought Mexicans to the United States as guest agricultural workers.[2] The site was the first permanent reception center for braceros.[1]

Rio Vista Farm took on a new role when part of it became a training academy for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office. After that time, the building which had been the farm's main building became The Rio Vista Recreation Center while most of the rest of the farm went unused and its buildings began to deteriorate. In 2015, it was added to the Preservation Texas' list of endangered places.[3]

It was named a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Deb Haaland, on December 11, 2023. The Rio Vista Farm buildings and surrounding fields in Socorro, TX are included in the Historic Landmark district.[4][5] In September 2024, Socorro’s City Council approved funding to build a bracero museum on the site. Along with building a museum facility, the city plans to raise $35 million to complete the restoration project to restore buildings on the site which have fallen into disrepair. This project has already received about $1 million from Congress and a $750,000 Mellon Foundation grant.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Kocherga, Angela (October 1, 2024). "Socorro to build bracero museum at Rio Vista Farm, a National Historic Landmark". El Paso Matters.
  2. ^ "Rio Vista Farm | National Trust for Historic Preservation". savingplaces.org. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
  3. ^ Flores, Aileen B. "Rio Vista Farm in Socorro among Texas' most endangered historic places". El Paso Times. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  4. ^ "Rio Vista Bracero Reception Center – NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK NOMINATION".
  5. ^ Hatzipanagos, Rachel (2024-05-14). "'Inhumane' Mexican worker program commemorated in U.S." Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  6. ^ Kocherga, Angela (2024-10-01). "Socorro to build bracero museum at Rio Vista Farm, a National Historic Landmark". El Paso Matters. Retrieved 2024-11-19.


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