Spring Tour & TreatsTracking Migration: Mexicans and Mexican Americans in Ottawa County, 1920-1950Spring Tour & Treats

This presentation will analyze the migration patterns of ethnic Mexicans in Ottawa County.

Why did Mexican immigrants first come to Holland in the early 1920s? What sort of welcome did they find upon their arrival? How did the experiences of Mexicans and Mexican Americans in Holland change over the first few decades of their settlement in Ottawa county? This presentation will answer these questions and more by analyzing the migration patterns of ethnic Mexicans in Ottawa County. It will draw upon genealogical sources, such as U.S. Census records, historical newspaper archives, oral history interviews and archival documents from the Holland Museum collections. Through this research various aspects of Mexican and Mexican American life in the area will be highlighted including living conditions, occupations, residency, and education. The presentation will conclude with an analysis of the how Mexicans and Mexican Americans were racialized in Holland’s distinctive ethnic community.