Genealogy Resources @ the BHC

 

  Unique Historical Treasures Featured at this year's 2025 Border Archives Bazaar

On Saturday, October 18, 2025, from 10 am- 4 pm, in Las Cruces, NM, join us for a fun and educational event that showcases unique and historic archival materials from the border region.  The El Paso Public Library Border Heritage Center, along with other libraries, archives, and museums of southern New Mexico, West Texas, and the borderlands, will be there to showcase unique and historic archival materials from the border region. The bazaar is organized by the Border Regional Archives Group (BRAG). It features rare documents, photographs, maps, publications, and more, highlighting the unique history and cultural heritage of our region. This year’s theme is Voices through time - Voces a traves del tiempo.  

The event brings together resources from more than a dozen libraries, archives, museums and historical societies of southern New Mexico and west Texas. Participating institutions include: NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections, El Paso Public Library Border Heritage Center, the UTEP Library’s C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections, Texas Tech University’s Southwestern Collection, San Elizario Los Portales Museum, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, Doña Ana County Clerk and Recorder’s Office, El Paso County Historical Society, the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society, and Sul Ross State University Archives of the Big Bend, among others. The Bazaar highlights the role that archives play in preserving and promoting our cultural heritage. Archivists, librarians, and museum curators will be on hand to discuss and answer questions about archives, regional history, and preservation of original documents.

A series of film screenings throughout the day in the museum’s theater will highlight historical footage and oral history interviews with long-time residents of the border region.

For more information, please contact: Dennis Daily, Archives and Special Collections, New Mexico State University Library, ddaily@nmsu.edu, 575-646-4756, or Claudia Rivers, Special Collections, University of Texas at El Paso Library, crivers@utep.edu, 915-747-6725.

Temporary change in services for September 20, 2025

 

Jake Erlich AKA Jack Earle

Jacob Rheuben Erlich

Jacob Rheuben Erlich AKA Jake Erlich (July 3, 1906 – July 18, 1952), professionally credited as Jack Earle, was an American silent film actor and sideshow performer. Earle claimed to be one of the world's tallest humans standing 8 ft 6.5 in (2.60m) however some sources say his actual height was only around 7 ft 6 in (229 cm). For 14 years, he traveled with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, then became a salesman.  He was born in Denver, Colorado, in 1906, the son of Jewish immigrants.  He went to El Paso High and graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and in January 1952 he retired and returned to El Paso, TX for health reasons.

He is referenced in Tom Waits's song "Get Behind The Mule" (at 1:39).

https://youtu.be/O_v2HChe350?si=naA5SrsKKTVc95o0

He died on July 18 at Hotel Dieu in El Paso, TX, at age 46 and is buried in the B'Nai Zion section of Concordia Cemetery in the Erlich family plot.

July 19, 1952 Obituaries

For more information:

Visit the Border Heritage Center - Come and see what we have!

From the card catalogue

    

Books owned by Erlich

From our Vertical Files

Check out the biography:

https://elpasopl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/default/search/results?qu=Erlich%2C+Andrew.#

The Long Shadows: The Story of Jake Erlich is a fascinating true-life novel about the extraordinary life of Jacob Reuben Erlich, who, at 8 foot 6, was known as the tallest man in the world. Drawing on ten years of research culled from family lore, newspaper archives, historical documents and the recorded recollections of Jake’s contemporaries, author Dr. Andy Erlich weaves a fascinating bio-fictional account of a remarkable man and the cast of colorful characters who knew him.

Some Other Websites:

Digie: https://www.digie.org/en/media/11185 & https://www.digie.org/en/media/1507

Elevate El Paso: https://youtu.be/sm3iKDDkzk4?si=voKIJgh6-IjWQGCt

Vintage Everyday: https://www.vintag.es/2023/07/jack-earle.html

KLAQ: https://klaq.com/el-pasoan-tallest-man-in-the-world/

Carnival World Museum: https://showmensmuseum.org/traveling-carnival-and-circus-sideshows/circus-tall-man-jack-earle/

Sideshow World:  https://sideshowworld.com/41-GG/103-Jack/CG-Earle.html

Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Earle

Tales From the Morgue: https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2012/04/06/1950-el-paso-giant-goes-over-big-in-new-career/31505571/

Texas Hill Country: https://texashillcountry.com/jack-earle-larger-than-life-texan/

Bygonery: https://www.bygonely.com/jack-earle-of-el-paso/

EPCC Lib Guide: https://epcc.libguides.com/c.php?g=754275&p=5406555

DIGITAL TROST COLLECTION

 New Collection Alert!

The Trost Collection features architectural plans and drawings from El Paso architectural firm, Trost & Trost. Led by lead architect, Henry C. Trost, the firm left an indelible mark across El Paso and the surrounding southwest region. The collection illustrates the architectural past of early 20th century El Paso and reveals the vast array of architectural styles that filled El Paso's downtown skyline, commercial/industrial sector, and residential neighborhoods.

To access, visit our BHC Trost Digital Collections website at Explore Our Collections - Border Heritage Center Digital Collections

 

      

                              

Funded by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services through a grant to the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (Grant # LS-256843-OLS-24). (2025)

 

           

 

 

Juneteenth

 

Juneteenth in El Paso, TX

Brief overview

The word Juneteenth stands for June Nineteenth, and it is also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Black Independence Day, Juneteenth Independence Day, and Juneteenth National Independence Day.

On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863, "all persons held as slaves" in areas under rebellion against the Union would be free. However, this announcement did not reach Texas until June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston to announce General Order No. 3. This order, issued by Union Army General Gordon Granger, granted freedom to enslaved individuals in Texas.

  

National Museum of African American History
Gift of Ralph E. Becker

General Order No. 3

Texas was the last state to free slaves and the first to declare "Emancipation Day" as an official holiday.  The newly freed African Americans did things that were once prohibited to them, such as dancing, singing, barbecuing, etc.  As a result, they left their owners and started a new life.  

 

In 1938, former Governor of Texas James Alfred proclaimed the following: 

"Whereas, June 19, 1938, this year falls on Sunday; NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES V. ALFRED, Governor of the State of Texas, do set aside and proclaim the day of June 20, 1938, as the date for observance of EMANCIPATION DAY in Texas, and do urge all members of the Negro race in Texas to observe the day in a manner appropriate to its importance to them." ~ retrieved from Wikipedia-Juneteenth. 

In 1979, Al Edwards, a Democratic State Representative from Houston, proposed that Juneteenth be officially recognized as a paid holiday in Texas. The bill passed through the Texas State Legislature and was finally approved on January 1, 1980. Juneteenth was established as a federal holiday in the United States on June 16, 2021, by President Joe Biden and the House of Representatives.

El Paso Times, Sunday, June 19, 1994

El Paso Times, Sunday, June 19, 1994, p. 1A

For decades, El Pasoans have celebrated Juneteenth in many different ways, like parades, pageants, festivals, music, free food, craft booths, free entertainment, dance, breakfasts, traditional barbecues, festivals, and even fireworks.  As a matter of fact, multiple organizations and clubs, including the McCall Neighborhood Center, Interclub Council of El Paso, and UTEP's African American Studies Program, coordinate and sponsor the festivities. 

The clippings below are from The El Paso Times newspaper, which has published accounts of the festivities over the years. 

El Paso Herald, June 19, 1918

El Paso Times, June 13, 1919

El Paso Times, May 29, 1939

El Paso Times, June 15, 1941

Suggested books on Juneteenth that are available for checkout at The Border Heritage Center:

From the Border Heritage Center Digital Collections: 

The Luminario, December 7, 1979, Vol. 20

Sources:

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: El Paso Herald/El Paso Times

Juneteenth | Federal Holiday, Meaning, Flag, History, Food, & Celebration | Britannica

Emancipation Proclamation (1863) | National Archives

Juneteenth: El Paso County Historical Society

The Portal to Texas History: The Prospector from the University of Texas at El Paso

Juneteenth: El Paso History Museum Digital Wall (DIGIE)

Juneteenth - Wikipedia

Black-History-Juneteenth.pdf

The Historical Legacy of Juneteenth | National Museum of African American History and Culture

 

Amelia Earhart and the El Paso High School Yearbook

While working on our Yearbook Collection I came across a Forward in the 1930s El Paso High School Yearbook, The Spur.  The forward was penned by Amelia Earhart.  This was surprising as I had never heard of this before, and so I went on the hunt for any corroborating evidence.  I did, in fact, find a news article in the 1929 El Paso Herald about Amelia Earhart to write the Forward for El Paso High. 

This was an interesting find and if you want to view the 1930s El Paso High yearbook that has the forward come by and take a look.  You can also view the Citizen Vertical File we have on her.

Border Heritage Center - Citizen Vertical File - Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was in El Paso on Sept 11, 1928, trying to fly from El Paso to Pecos.  She, and the other piolets were also delayed in El Paso during the 1929 Women's Air Derby.

Some news reports on Amelia Earhart coming into El Paso

Thu, October 6th 2016 - May have landed on field.

Amelia Earhart flew into El Paso in 1928

Oct 4 2010 - 1928: “Our Amelia” Comes To Town

The Story of Your Tree

This program is intended to help those who are interested in learning more about their family roots and how to get started.

You can contact the Border Heritage Center at 915-212-3218 for more information.

Date:
June 12, 2025

Location:
Main Library
501 N Oregon
First Basement
Training Room 311

Time:
5pm-6pm

 

El Paso Thanksgiving

The Spanish expedition of Juan de Onate with the Manso Native Americans has a special place right here in the El Paso area. On April 30, 1598, the Onate expedition reached a location in El Paso’s Lower Valley, somewhere between Socorro and Fabens, leading to a celebratory feast.

El Paso historian Fred Morales said that the Mission Trail Association commemorates that 1598 Thanksgiving in San Elizario right after Easter.

“Our Thanksgiving feast involved several hundred people: the Spanish Army that Juan de Onate brought, along with the priest and the Manso Indians,” he said.

“They feasted the entire Spanish army with eating geese, duck and fish, primarily with the Manso Indians,” Morales said. “Onate had found a group of trees and had built a chapel there and Fray Alonso Martinez read a mass sermon. Some were converted into Christianity.”

Marker located in San Elizario, Texas, El Paso County.  It can be reached from the intersection of San Elizario Road and Church Street and is located at the San Elizario Memorial Plaza.

Inscription:

"Late in November 1597 a colonizing expedition headed by Don Juan de Oñate left Santa Barbara in northern Chihuahua headed for what is now New Mexico. Four hundred men led the way, 130 of whom had wives and children. There were several priests, 83 wagons and carts, plus 7000 head of stock. They were planning to stay.

They reached the Río Conchos and after a needed rest, started out again on February 7. Marching on northward over the barren desert of Chihuahua for several weeks, the last four days without water, the expedition finally reached El Río del Norte (near the present-day San Elizario) on April 26, 1598. The poet-chronicler of the march Gasper Pérez de Villagrá, wrote that the river was a most welcome sight: "Horses approached the rolling stream and plunged headlong into it two of them drank so much that they burst their sides and died. Two others plunged so far into the stream that they were caught in its swift current and drowned." Some of the humans went almost as wild. The arrival was a "happy and joyous occasion," and all were in a thankful mood. Grateful for the completion of a perilous part of their journey, the abundance of water, and plenty of wild game along the river, the expedition set about preparations for a great celebration, The First Thanksgiving in what is now the United States of America, which took place on April 30, 1598.

The Great Colonizer, as Oñate has been called, thus brought the Spanish culture (and ultimately, that of Mexico) to what would become the Great Southwest shaping its growth and the development of the area for generations. These historic events preceded the English colonies on the Atlantic Seaboard, the French colonization of Canada, and the Dutch settlements in the Hudson River area by several years.

Erected by the El Paso Mission Trail Association, Inc., in recognition of the Oñate Expedition and dedicated by Manuel Gullon y Oñate, Conde de Tepa, April 29, 1989."

For Checkout:

The titles you see here are some of the books about Juan de Oñate and the how the Southwest was settled.  These books are available for checkout at the Border Heritage Center.

From the Perrenot Room:

Inside our vault we have various reference books about the Southwest.  Once such book is displayed here.  The books in this room are Reference materials so they are unable to be checked out, but they can be requested for viewing at the Border Heritage Center.  Just ask staff for help and they will assist you.

Links to more information:

elpasomissions.org/tourist-guide/

https://www.ktsm.com/local/el-paso-area-home-to-one-of-the-first-thanksgivings/

https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=118280

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/26/move-over-massachusetts-el-paso-claims-it-beat-plymouth-to-first-thanksgiving

https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/lifestyle/travel/2013/04/21/san-elizario-claims-countrys-first-thanksgiving/15096265007/

https://www.statesman.com/story/entertainment/2016/09/26/from-the-archives-was-the-first-thanksgiving-held-in-texas/10205683007/

https://kfoxtv.com/community/just-ask-john/did-you-know-texas-claims-the-first-thanksgiving-celebration-twice

https://www.texasalmanac.com/articles/the-first-thanksgiving#:~:text=San%20Elizario%2C%20the%20site%20where,celebration%20of%20thanksgiving%20in%201598.

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/2018/11/22/el-paso-history-group-arrested-blasphemy-plymouth-first-thanksgiving/2030456002/

https://www.ktsm.com/news/was-texas-the-real-site-of-the-first-thanksgiving/

https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/news/history/blogs/tales-from-the-morgue/2016/11/23/leon-metz-el-paso-take-pride-first-thanksgiving/94354642/

https://lrl.texas.gov/whatsNew/client/index.cfm/2011/11/21/First-Thanksgiving-TexasStyle

https://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=793&Bill=HR207

https://houstonfamilymagazine.com/family-life/texas-hosted-the-first-thanksgiving/

https://kvia.com/news/el-paso/2023/11/24/people-places-paul-el-paso-areas-claim-to-1st-thanksgiving-in-1598/

 

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2025 Reopening

 We are back!!!

We are proud to announce that BHC has officially re-opened its doors and is back in business! We welcome you inside of the newly renovated main library building, located at 501 N. Oregon in downtown El Paso! Below are some pictures for you to take a quick peek of how our new section looks like! 👇👇👇👇

BHC Reference Desk/New Books/Raza & Periodicals collections

El Paso USS & EPT/EPHP microfilm collection

Reading Room & Maps collection

Vertical files/Ready Reference

Southwest, Biographies, and Local Materials collections

Come on down! We are excited to see you soon!!!

 

DUE TO RELOCATION, STARTING SATURDAY, JAN. 25, 2025, THE BORDER HERITAGE CENTER WILL BE TEMPORARILY CLOSED

Please read below:

New El Paso Book - Free Book Lecture

Come and learn about the untold stories of one of El Paso's historic corner grocery stores, González Grocery.  More information is below, the QR code will download a PDF file of the book title.

Flyer Downloads

PDF Download

JPEG Download

Free Book Lecture Information:
Saturday, January 25
1pm
El Paso County Historical Society Burges House
603 W. Yandell

One afternoon in fall 2015 Cristina Devereaux Ramírez’s mother called and, with a tone of urgency in her voice, asked her to come to the house and take a look at something she had discovered when she was sorting through boxes in the attic. When Ramírez arrived, she found her family sifting through papers in an old vegetable box, reading some of the more than 750 pages of Spanish language poems, short stories, fables, and dichos Ramírez’s maternal grandmother, Ramona González, had written. Some pieces were works in progress, complete with word and phrase strikethroughs and handwritten notes in the margins, while others were neatly typed prose or what might have been final drafts. None of González’s writings had seen the outside of that box for decades, at least since 1995 when the family matriarch passed away.

González—or Doña Ramona, as she was often called—was born in 1906 in the El Paso border barrio of Chihuahuita, sometimes referred to as the Ellis Island of the Southwest. Her writing celebrates the rich Mexican American culture of Chihuahuita, a neighborhood the National Trust for Historic Preservation identified in 2016 as one of America’s most endangered historic places. A mother, corner grocery store owner, published writer, and community activist, González was one of the few Tejanas profiled in Worthy Mothers of Texas, 1776–1976

A Story of Stories from a Texas Border Barrio, Ramírez chronicles the life of her abuela with the care of a granddaughter and, with the eye of a scholar, analyzes selections from González’s work and its significance to El Paso history, Chicano literature, border barrio folklore, and cross-border civic movements in the mid-twentieth century.
-From Trinity University Press

For questions contact:
El Paso County Historical Society
https://www.elpasohistory.com/
(915) 533-3603

Regular Hours

Tuesday and Thursday’s: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

You can click the images to see them better.