Rancho Los Nogales
Prior to the arrival of railroad workers, a patch of walnut trees along a small stream marked the site of the future Nogales. Acquired in 1841 by José Elías, the area known as Rancho Los Nogales straddled both sides of the future border. The property changed hands on several occasions, a portion being purchased in 1857 by Tomas Robinson and finally by José Camou of Hermosillo in 1871. The demarcation of the border in 1853 began the transformation of the once peaceful walnut groves. William Emory, a member of the United States Mexican bound-
ary commission, reported visiting "Los Nogales" sixty-nine miles south of Tucson to begin survey operations on the border. He described the area surrounding Los Nogales as "refreshing to the senses, . . . clothed with green verdure."[3] After completing its mission, the United States-Mexican border commission erected a stone monument at the site of Los Nogales, officially demarcating the territory between both nations. With the American acquisition of Arizona, title to the land on the American side became mired in controversy.[4]
To control the growing contraband trade, the Mexican federal government in August of 1880 declared Los Nogales an aduana. The first Mexican agent assigned to the site, Jacobo Andonaegui, operated the customshouse from a under a tattered tent.[5] Not long after, Nogales began to draw the attention of Mexicans and Americans. On the Sonoran side, José Juan Vásquez opened a small store and a rustic posada (inn) for travelers.[6] On the Arizona side, Jacob Isaacson established a shop, operated a post office, and tried to function as the de facto authority of the American camp. Even with the arrival of the customs station and the presence of Vásquez and Isaacson, the future of Los Nogales remained in doubt.[7]
The initial railroad contract with the Mexican government called for a line to El Paso, not Nogales. As tracks moved north, the company convinced the federal government to abandon the Texas route and proceed directly to Arizona. In part the decision reflected the rapid pace of rail construction in Arizona by the Southern Pacific (from California) and by the Santa Fe (from New Mexico). Engineers still had not resolved a crossing point into the American territory, and no consensus existed as to where to lay the tracks. Originally the company proposed to run the line from Hermosillo toward Ures and then Bacuachi, following the course of the Sonora River. The area was home to powerful hacendados and included some of the state's most productive lands. Still, the valleys and steep mountainous terrain would dramatically increase the cost of construction. The Mexican engineer assigned to the project, Leopoldo Zamora, estimated that the Sonora River line would cost $850 thousand compared to $496 thousand for the flatter Magdalena route. Cost carried the day and assured the future of Nogales and the demise of communities along the Río Sonora, including the old state capital, Ures.
As railroad crews moved north and made their way through the Cocospera Canyon in the district of Magdalena, people began to trickle
into Nogales. Railroad workers and a few shrewd merchants constituted the first wave of residents. Even during this embryonic phase, differences between both settlements became apparent. One of the first permanent settlers of Nogales, Arizona, John T. Brickwood, recalled that buildings on the American side had been constructed from wood frame and on the Mexican side from adobe.[8] Still most observers did not think the settlement had much of a future. In October 1882 the Mexican consul at Tucson reported to Mexico City that the encampment along the border had no importance whatsoever: it consisted mainly of railroad workers who established there a small outpost "which they will undoubtedly tear down as soon as the work is completed."[9] Several American observers who visited the site echoed the consul's sentiments. Ripley Hitchock, a railroad engineer, described Nogales as "a dozen shacks and tents and as many mountains of empty beer bottles."[10] Since male railroad workers constituted the core of the early population, the encampment had a considerable number of gambling saloons, dance halls, and brothels.[11] A retrospective of the town done by El Monitor, a Nogales newspaper, claimed that the early camp had few redeeming qualities since workers squandered their earnings at two temples, one to Bacchus and the other to Venus.[12]
October 25, 1882, the day anxiously awaited by both Sonorans and Arizonans, finally arrived. With great fanfare, the two rail lines met at Los Nogales thereby assuring the future of both towns. Agnes Morley, daughter of the American engineer in charge of the project, described the meeting of the rails.[13] Mexican flags draped the engine of the Sonoran railroad as it approached Nogales, where American and Mexican women smashed bottles of champagne on the locomotive. Within two years, Nogales, Sonora, had a population of over one thousand residents and officials declared it a state municipality.[14] To secure land for the Mexican town, the Sonoran government signed a formal contract with the Camou family. J. J. Vasquez became the Mexican town's first police comisario, a post he held for many years. Whereas towns throughout the interior of Sonora waited years to be declared a municipality, Nogales achieved this status in short order.
The federal government assured the future of Nogales by granting the northwest special trading status. Building on earlier policies initiated by Benito Juárez, Porfirio Díaz extended the Zona Libre to include the most important ports of entry in the Mexican north: Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, Piedras Negras, Paso del Notre, and Nogales.[15] In 1884
Díaz decreed that foreign goods stored and consumed by border cities would not be subject to taxation,[16] and in November of that year, the federal government assigned new customs agents to take charge of the Nogales aduana.[17] Despite American pressures, the Zona Libre eventually incorporated all of the northern border[18]