by Justine Arias, Environmental Studies major, class of 2026

In 1930, a crew of 34 Mexican railroad laborers lived along Front Street in Junction City, Oregon. Junction City, roughly 15 miles northeast of Eugene, was established in 1872 and gained steady development in the late 19th century from the continuation of the nearby Southern Pacific Railroad.

This all-male crew consisted of young men ranging from approximately 21 to 42 years of age, and while majority of the crew were single at the time, 5 of them were recognized as married.

Nemecio Romero, Vicente Cardenas, Jose Acosta, Jesus Riojas, and Jose Gomez were all part of the railroad crew in Junction City and were the only married men in the crew referred to as the Front Street Crew. 

These five particular railroad workers were all part of a larger group of Mexican men who crossed the border in the early 20th century to find better-paying jobs that would allow them to support themselves and others. Through the use of Mexican railroads, such as the Mexican National Railroad, those who lived in central Mexico were able to quickly travel out of tense environments during the Mexican Revolution to places such as El Paso, San Antonio, or San Diego, where they would be able to find jobs with better wages in comparison to those being offered in Mexico at the time. The majority of men who migrated for work in the United States were single; a handful of married men made the trek north for seasonal work while their wives remained in Mexico. Even though this proved to be straining on marriages, these decisions were made as families. They were done to survive, and with the hope that once enough money was earned, the men would eventually return home to their wives and continue their lives in Mexico. 

Mexican railroad laborers working to lay railroad tracks in the San Fernando Valley, Southern California, 1905. Although this image is from California the Front Street Crew may have looked somewhat similar when working on the railroad in Junction City. Mason, William. Mexican Railroad Workers in the San Fernando Valley (Possibly the Van Nuys Station). 1905. Photograph. Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library

While they were all in Lane County in 1930, each of these men were born at different times in Mexico and thus lived very different lives, which led them to work together on a railroad in Junction City. Vicente Cardenas, the oldest of the five married crew members, was born in 1890 and married his first wife in 1914 at 24. Cardenas crossed the border into the United States sometime in 1929 at 39. Jose Gomez was born in Mexico in 1894 and married his first wife at 17 before crossing the border in 1910. Jesus Riojas was born around 1899 and married in 1912 at 17 while still in Mexico. Riojas first crossed the border in 1926. Nemecio Romero was born in Mexico and married his wife at 21 in 1923. Similar to Cardenas, Romero crossed the border in 1929 at the age of 27. The youngest of the five married men, Jose Acosta, was born in 1905 and, at the age of 10, crossed the border, presumably with his parents for the first time, making him the only one out of the five married men to have crossed the border at such a young age. Even though Acosta’s motivations for crossing the border are unknown, since he grew up during Don Porfirio Diaz’s reign as the President of Mexico, along with an increase in political and economic unrest throughout the country, it is safe to assume that he lived in a city which was more heavily affected by the revolution and thus pushed him to cross the border at such a young age in comparison to the rest of his crew members. In 1928, Acosta married at the age of 23. Although the exact location where all five crew members were born is unknown, it would be safe to assume that they were motivated to leave Mexico to escape tense environments born out of the Mexican Revolution. These men may have migrated to the United States after hearing success stories of Mexicanos finding more well-paying jobs in labor forces such as the railroad industry. It is not uncommon for these men to have migrated to the United States alone, especially if they were planning on working in a seasonal role, yet it is possible that they may have moved their family to a different part of the states after earning enough of an income for them to start a life outside of Mexico. It is safe to assume, however, that because these five men were working in a labor-intensive industry that did not pay extremely well, they moved back to Mexico after a short period of time working in the States. 

Furthermore, looking at these five married men and how they compare to their 29 fellow crew members is essential. Cardenas, Gomez, Riojas, Romero, and Acosta fit into the typical category of Mexicanos in Lane County during the 1920s-30s because they were immigrating from Mexico to look for work and had ended up in Lane County one way or another. Most of them were around the median age of Mexicanos in Lane County, roughly 28, besides Cardenas, who was 40 years old and thus on the older side. However, these five men are unique in that they were part of a small group of 19 Mexicanos who were married and located in Lane County in 1930. 

Crew of Mexican railroad laborers in Los Angeles, California c. 1905-1910. Although this crew was located in Los Angeles, we can assume that the Front Street Railroad crew looked somewhat similar to the crew above. Mason, William. Mexican Railroad Workers in Los Angeles. 1910-1915. Photograph. Digital Collections of the Los Angeles Public Library

A rich history can be learned by focusing on railroad laborers such as the Front Street crew. One may learn more about one specific railroad crew located in Junction City, their motivations, how they fit into the demographic of Mexicanos in Lane County, and how they directly affected the development of railroad work in Lane County. Much can be learned about the situations that led these 34 Mexican men to live together in Junction City and the conditions they most likely lived in. One can articulate the legacy that this crew left behind in Lane County by making this information more well-known to those still residing in Lane County and surrounding areas to make sure that this vital part of history is remembered. 

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