Smeltertown: A Community Lost to Time along the U.S – Mexico Border

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2019: General Sessions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In the late 1880s in El Paso, Texas, the establishment of a copper and lead smelter on the Rio Grande later brought about the rise of a community called Smeltertown. This community of workers, families and Mexican nationals from across the border established a thriving community. Located at the intersection of both land and water borders of the U.S. – Mexico international border positioned to the west and south down the Rio Grande. Its location on the Rio Grande at this convergence of Texas, New Mexico and the Country of Mexico makes this a nexus of history as a demarcation of Mexican and U.S. History. In 2017, re-construction to the American Canal on the western edge of Smeltertown unearthed features, artifacts and foundations. This presentation will show how Smeltertown was a thriving community, until leveled in 1972 due to lead contamination in Smeltertown and environs. This will examine the artifacts that comprise culture from both sides of the border and predicts what will be found, as Smeltertown is still there – buried, even if the people are not.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24154