Thanks Glen great job ! If you enlarge the photo in the fuzzy background you can make our the erection bay buildings for Austin Western and the water tower. It all fits in place, the switch is for the "Austin lead".
All those " old heads " that pointed to the east end of the west yard were pointing at another box car setup. Apparently much smaller. The site you've identified is a 5 minute walk to the scrap dock. I wondered about the other reported
site as it was at least a mile away. I'm thinking the Eola site was for the section crew.
For the guys who are thinking this village was set up as part of the '22 shop strike, I'm not saying your wrong, but everything I've read about strike and housing replacements they were ensconced in the property where they worked
in order to protect them. The village we're talking about was accessible from two public roads. So I doubt the Q put up "scabs" 3 miles from the shops.
Leo
Sent from my iPhone
Leo:
About your concern below for the photo location. When I looked at the photo, I had the same concern, so I looked at the entire Eola map to see if I could find the track.
I found it! The photo is of a spur off of the yard lead of the East Yard at the WEST end. Photo is looking west toward McClure. I wish I had looked this far west to begin with, because the linen shows the entire Mexican Village, unfortunately ALL erased,
but I can see enough detail to re-draw it if I can't get it to show up in a scan.
It's going to be a couple of days before I can get to it. Will keep you posted.
Glen Haug
Dave,Hol and Randy according to the
il.gov site from Randy the camp was started in 1921 when immigration from Europe became difficult. I will research the local paper during the '22 strike period to see if it reveals anything.
By the way the various photos being sent are the same I received this morning. But the article is going to contain those details that can't be shown.
I am a little trouble by the photo of the "village" cars in a row next to the track as that is different from my understanding of the layout. Also the reference to W. Eola would be out the camp much closer to Aurora than to the the little village of Eola.
Hopefully When Glen scans the map the location will be settled.
Leo
And of course there was the large boxcar bunk house camp for "scabs" at West Burlington during the 1922 shop workers strike
Hol
I'd be almost willing to bet that the camp had its origins in the 1922 strike and was then used later by the Mexican workers. I don't know that but I do
suspect it. There was a "Mexican" camp, at Centralia that used boxcar bunk houses left from the '22 strike.
The timeline says that he camp was closed by 1934, which unfortunately predates any of the USDA aerial photos by a few years.
Randy