Amish Village | Bellefont
| Bloom | Bucklin
| Dodge City | Ford
| Howell |
Kingsdown | Lasker
Mexican Village | Spearville
| Windthorst | Wright
Homesteading in Ford County
Mexican Village
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
hired laborers from Mexico to work for them in the early 1900's
after not having enough labor locally in the Dodge City area.
They were offered homes, as well as employment. There were about
10 houses, which would probably have been shacks, and laborers
who came later pitched tents or built shacks. Demand increased
for more space for the railroad operation, so he village moved
east.
At this new site, 3 sections of row
houses were built,; some using bridge timbers and the rest using
scrap lumber. Eventually the village had a grocery store, a dance
hall, a church and a school. It was a very close-knit community
which was pretty much isolated from the Dodge City community.
Father John Mark Handley was the person responsible for getting
a school building for the children built in the village. It was
a frame building which was replaced in 1921 by a two room public
school. The original school building became the church. The school,
known as Coronado School, existed until 1948.
As the railroad changed to diesel from
steam power, it forced the people in this village to make way
for improvements. The row houses were demolished to make room
for a fuel tank during World War II. By the 1950's, the Mexicans
had left the area and there was no longer a village.
Sources
Ford County Historical Society.
Dodge City and Ford County, Kansas 1870-1920: Pioneer Histories
and Stories.
Dodge City, KS, 1996.
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