A Century Later, Historians Revisit a Texas Massacre

Evidence later showed the victims were unarmed. Pressure by survivors of the massacre led to investigations by the Mexican and U.S. governments, which, despite assertions by the Texas Rangers and ranchers that their actions were justified, found them responsible for killing 15 unarmed people. Company B of the Texas Rangers was disbanded, with some members being fired or transferred, and their captain, James Monroe Fox, being forced to resign.

No one was ever charged with the murders, though, and the families were never compensated. The story was largely forgotten. But in recent years, historians have been re-examining the massacre and pushing for an understanding of what happened and acknowledgment of the culpability of those involved. 

A report of an archaeological excavation in which investigators found military cartridge casings and military bullets, in addition to civilian rounds, was published online in September in the Journal of Conflict Archaeology. The authors said it opened up the possibility that the U.S. Army was more involved in the massacre than previously believed. The Army said it didn’t have a response but may comment this week.

The Porvenir Massacre wasn’t an isolated incident in Texas. There are many other places in the state where violence against Mexicans, Native Americans, Black people or others at the hands of law enforcement and vigilantes occurred—then was forgotten or suppressed. Texas Rangers have been the heroes of many frontier stories, but their role and that of other law-enforcement agencies in violent incidents is a painful part of the state’s history. 

Monica Muñoz Martinez, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has studied racial violence along the Texas-Mexico border, said that at the time of the Porvenir massacre, state-sanctioned violence against Mexicans was encouraged and celebrated by lawmakers and the English-language press.

“You can’t lose sight of the humanity of the people who were massacred and the failure of the judicial court system to hold the people who participated in the massacre, the Texas Rangers and named civilians, accountable,” Ms. Martinez said. 

The survivors of those killed tried to hold the Texas Rangers and ranchers accountable despite the risks and resistance. After a grand jury in Presidio County declined to indict the shooters, the Mexican embassy filed a protest with the U.S. State Department. Some survivors testified before U.S. investigators. It was this pressure that would eventually lead to the Texas governor disbanding Company B of the Texas Rangers. 

The Texas Rangers didn’t respond to a request for comment on the massacre and efforts to learn more about it. The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum acknowledges that during the violent period of 1910 to 1920 along the Texas-Mexico border, when there were raids from both sides, “serious crimes were committed” by Rangers. The rapid growth, lack of training and command control led to some Ranger companies acting as vigilante groups, according to the museum website.

In researching her book, “The Injustice Never Leaves You: anti-Mexican Violence in Texas,” Ms. Martinez came across numerous cases of racial violence along the border against Black, Asian, and Latino people at the hands of mobs, law enforcement and U.S. soldiers.

The period from 1910 to 1920 became known as La Matanza, or The Massacre; hundreds of Mexican-Americans were killed, many in lynchings. Ms. Martinez said the 2019 El Paso mass shooting in which the assailant said the attack was in response to a “Hispanic invasion” of Texas, sparked interest in the Porvenir massacre. Though the 2019 massacre was very different, it was an example of racially targeted violence during a time of anti-Mexican sentiment along the Texas-Mexico border, she said. 

Ms. Martinez co-founded Refusing to Forget, a group of historians who work to inform the public about state-sanctioned anti-Mexican violence along the border through lectures, exhibits and historical markers. They have helped put up four Undertold Markers—Texas Historical Commission plaques that commemorate underrepresented subjects or untold stories—including one for the Porvenir Massacre. 

Not everyone was eager to revisit this part of the state’s past. The Presidio County Attorney, a member of the Presidio County Historical Commission and some descendants of the owners of Brite Ranch had concerns with the process of creating or dedicating the marker.

Presidio County Attorney Rod Ponton said he didn’t have any issues with the language on the marker recounting what happened at Porvenir, but reached out to the Texas Historical Commission with concerns about the marker being politicized after learning there would be a dedication ceremony in El Paso. 

“We wanted the marker event to honor the families and not be politicized and I think we succeeded,” Mr. Ponton said. The historical marker for the Porvenir Massacre was ultimately unveiled in 2018.

Ben Johnson, a professor of history at Loyola University Chicago and a member of Refusing to Forget, said re-examining and retelling history can rub some people the wrong way because it goes against what they were brought up to believe—especially in a state such as Texas, where the history of Anglo settlers is celebrated and other groups are often viewed as outsiders impeding progress. 

“In the end, the whole idea that history is going to be comfortable and make everyone happy is not how it works,“ Mr. Johnson said.

Write to Adolfo Flores at [email protected]