Revised Segundo Barrio historic district boundary approved by El Paso County Commissioners
EL PASO, Texas -- El Paso County Commissioners on Monday voted unanimously to adjust the boundary lines for the proposed Segundo Barrio National Historic District.
The new boundary was approved after Commissioners also unanimously rescinded the original boundary lines they had previously approved.
With Monday's action, the boundary lines will now include everything south of Paisano in the Segundo Barrio district.
Objections to the original plan surfaced because it divided Segundo Barrio into two districts, a Segundo Barrio historic district and a Downtown historic district. That division was based, in part, on a recommendation back in February from the State Historic Preservation Office.
But numerous historic preservationists expressed serious concerns in recent weeks, saying that the Segundo Barrio boundary under that original plan omitted Sacred Heart Church and some 200 other buildings. Numerous local preservationists spoke out during the public comment portion of Monday's meeting.
In addition, Commissioners received a petition containing hundreds of signatures from current and former residents of Segundo Barrio who also contended everything south of Paisano should be considered part of the area.
Commissioner David Stout, who placed the item on the agenda to redraw the boundary, called it an opportunity to "right this wrong."
El Segundo Barrio, or the Second Ward, dates back to the late 1880s when the city of El Paso was divided into four political districts and the neighborhood housed the majority of Mexican-Americans living in El Paso. Its population grew during the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th Century, a period that turned the neighborhood into a hub of activity during that historically significant time.
