San Elizario Salt War

Background

The Rio Grande served as a natural barrier in West Texas. Spanish colonials and later Mexicans settled communities along the river's south banks for protection from Comanche and Apache raids. San Elizario, founded in 1789, was originally south of the river, but an 1829 flood changed the river's course, leaving the town on an island between old and new channels. After the Republic of Texas claimed the Rio Grande as its southern border in 1836, the nationality of San Elizario's residents was disputed until the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 set the deepest channel as the international boundary, and the Gadsden Purchase in 1853 finalized the status.

San Elizario then became the largest U.S. community between San Antonio and Santa Fe, a major stop on the Camino Real, and the county seat. The American Civil War and Reconstruction brought many entrepreneurs to the area, and the families of San Elizario, with deep roots, resisted newcomers.

Republicans settled in Franklin, Texas, across from El Paso del Norte. By the 1870s, the Democratic Party regained influence, but its operatives were not accepted by San Elizario's residents, who retained ties to Mexico. Alliances shifted among Hispanic, Republican, and Democratic factions.

Political phase, 1866–1877

In 1870, influential leaders from Franklin claimed the land containing the salt deposits but failed to gain sole title. William Wallace Mills advocated private ownership, Louis Cardis supported the Hispanic community concept of commonwealth, and Albert Jennings Fountain favored county government ownership with community access. Cardis and Fountain formed the Anti-Salt ring, while Mills led the Salt ring. Fountain was elected to the Texas State Senate and pushed for his plan, but Father Antonio Borrajo opposed it and gained Cardis's support.

Judge Gaylord J. Clarke, a Mills supporter, was killed on December 7, 1870. Charles Howard arrived in 1872, aiming to restore Democratic power, and allied with Cardis, who was influential with Hispanic voters. Howard was elected district judge and feuded with Cardis over political dominance. In summer 1877, Howard filed a claim for the salt lakes in the name of his father-in-law, George B. Zimpelman, and offered to pay salineros for salt retrieval but insisted the salt was his.

Tejanos, encouraged by Borrajo and supported by Cardis, continued gathering salt. They formed committees in San Elizario, Socorro, and Ysleta to organize a community response, holding secret meetings during the summer.

The Salt War of 1877

On September 29, 1877, José Mariá Juárez and Macedonia Gandara threatened to collect a wagonload of salt. Howard had them arrested by Sheriff Charles Kerber and sought a court order to restrain them. Armed men arrested the judge and seized Howard at Kerber's home in Yselta. Howard was released on October 3 after paying a $12,000 bond and relinquishing all rights to the salt deposits.

He fled to Mesilla, New Mexico, then returned and shot and killed Cardis in an El Paso mercantile store on October 10. Howard fled again. Tejanos halted county government, replacing it with community juntas. Jones arrived on November 5, negotiated with junta leaders, arranged Howard's return and release on bail, and recruited 20 new Texas Rangers under Lieutenant John B. Tays, a Canadian mining engineer, land speculator, and smuggler. The detachment included Anglos and a few Tejanos, with some capable men but lacking cohesion.

Legacy

The war caused an estimated $31,050 in property damage and crop losses, including $48,000 in lost wheat. San Elizario lost its status as county seat to El Paso. The 9th Cavalry of Buffalo Soldiers re-established Fort Bliss to monitor the border and local Mexican population. When the railroad arrived in 1883, it bypassed San Elizario, leading to population decline and loss of political influence for ethnic Mexicans.