A black and white postcard with a yellowish tint. Image shows the homes of Hispanics living in Bisbee. Chicken can be seen in the lower left corner. The front caption reads: “Mexican Huts, Bisbee, Ariz.”. The postcard is unused, and the publisher is unknown. Lucille Schmalzel Collection.

Mexicans in Bisbee faced discrimination, they were barred from working underground in the more lucrative mining jobs. They were limited to above ground work which included cutting wood to fuel the smelters furnaces. As a result, the wages of Mexican laborers was often less than half of their white counter parts. Some Mexican businessmen created water delivery services utilizing delivery burros in the period before Bisbee’s infrastructure and water pipes developed. Mexican families lived on Chiricahua Hill, suffering from the unsanitary conditions from nearby Brewery Gulch, and also in Tin Town. When excluded from the white fraternal organizations, they simply formed their own. One group that found a friendly solidarity with Bisbee’s Mexicans were Italian immigrants and they would occasionally intermarry.

1973.41.16MM