Sarah Lim: Mexican American Experience in Merced County

As the different Spanish-named towns and roads evoke, the Mexican American community has a long and rich presence in Merced County.

From Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga first discovering Santa Rita and the subsequent naming of Merced River in 1806 to Mexican families fleeing war-torn Mexico for the United States in search of better lives in the early 20th century, their experience in Merced County has often been shaped by national and international events.

Through 30 historical and personal narratives, the “Our Stories: Mexican American Experience in Merced County” exhibit, opening Thursday at the Courthouse Museum, will explore Mexican Americans’ search for political, social and economic opportunities while celebrating their lasting contribution in building Merced County from the 1820s to the 1960s.

Moraga may be credited as the first to discover what is today’s Merced County in his search of a suitable mission site in the Valley. Francisco Perez Pacheco, on the other hand, was one of the first settlers in this county when he obtained the Rancho San Luis Gonzaga land grant in 1855.

The story of Pacheco’s land grant is a story of tragedy and triumph. Pacheco inherited this original Mexican land grant from his son, Juan Perez Pacheco, after his son’s death. Then, Pacheco and later his daughter, Ysidora Pacheco, fought a lengthy and expensive legal battle to prove the land title under California Land Act of 1851.

The act was legislation sponsored by U.S. Sen. William Gwin of California. Gwin’s law put the burden of proof of land claims on the Mexican land grant holders, like Pacheco. The Land Act contradicted the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that honored the property rights of the Mexican land grant holders. The treaty was signed by the Mexican and American governments in 1848 to end the Mexican American War and Mexican control of California.

With the annexation of California to the United States in 1848, the “Californios” became American citizens and the border physically divided Mexican families into two separate nations. The opportunities for the Californios to live their lives as they had in the rancho days diminished as squatting and the California Land Act caused many landholders to lose their land.

The Pacheco family was able to verify the San Luis Gonzaga’s claim in 1871, and the ranch remained in the family for more than a century. Much of Pacheco’s property was condemned and converted into the San Luis Reservoir in the 1960s. Following his great-great-granddaughter’s death in 1992, the remainder was donated to create Pacheco State Park.

Like Pacheco, who left Mexico in 1819 due in part to Mexico’s war of independence, many Mexican immigrants came to the United States in the early 20th century fleeing the Mexican Revolution and seeking economic opportunities in the United States. According to the U.S. census, Mexican immigrants tripled from 200,000 to 600,000 between 1910 and 1930.

At the age of 17, Manuel Perezchica was a frequent visitor to America in search of work. After marrying Maria Guadalupe Ruiz in 1916, he brought his new bride and her mother permanently to the United States. With $700 in savings, he was able to lease a small ranch on Gurr Road in Merced in 1929. He was not only a farmer, he was a community leader who gave radio speeches in support of the war effort during World War II.

He was a father who raised several founding members and officers of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce of Merced. He was a man with a reputation for making the best wine and hosting great parties at his ranch. His story of advancing the social and economic status of his fellow compatriots and his children is told by his grandson Andy Perezchica.

In the first half of the 20th century, many Mexican migrant workers sought employment working in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley.

In Merced County, migrant camps were built throughout the seemingly endless acres of fertile agricultural land, especially in the orchards of California Packing Corp. and those surrounding the towns of Planada and Le Grand.

John Chavez’s father left his good-paying mining job in Colorado and relocated to Planada with his eight children after his wife’s death. They worked as a family group, picking figs, peaches, apricots and cotton to survive.

The Great Depression of 1930s put extraordinary hardships on Mexican American families. To eliminate competition, the federal government started repatriating Mexican immigrants as well as American citizens of Mexican descent to Mexico.

Yolanda Rodriguez Chavez recalls her worst memories growing up at the Bear Creek Camp were of the immigration raids. The raids often took place in the early mornings and undocumented workers would run as fast as possible and hide in the orchards.

These stories demonstrate that when opportunities are plentiful, there is a greater tolerance. However, when opportunities are scarce, intolerance is expressed in many forms.

Regardless of the difficulties and obstacles in building their lives in Merced County, the Mexican American community is one of the oldest groups in this nation and in this county. It has become an indispensable force in the shaping of Merced County’s socioeconomic structure with an emerging role to play in Merced County politics.

Please join us on Thursday at 5 p.m. for the opening of the “Our Stories” exhibit. At the opening reception, the museum will present a program of music, dance, storytelling and poetry reading, titled “Our Roots, Our Culture, Our Heritage,” at 6 p.m. For more information about the exhibit, please contact the Courthouse Museum at (209) 723-2401. The exhibit is free to the public and will run through Feb. 23.

This story was originally published October 10, 2014 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Sarah Lim: Mexican American Experience in Merced County."