THE RESIDENTS OF THE WEST PARK TRAILER CAMP

Earlier in this column (September 27 edition) we wrote about the West Park Trailer Camp located north of the Albion Malleable Iron Company from 1945 to 1949. This week we have a real treat. Would you like to know who lived there?

The 1948-49 Albion City Directory gives a listing of the main rent payer at each trailer. Notice that in this list many were Mexican-Americans. During this period the Malleable recruited workers from Texas (mostly from Brownsville) to work there. See our January 18, 1998 edition of this column on the www.albionmich.com website for further information.

From our Historical Notebook this week we present a photograph of one of the government trailers that has been burned out, and some people standing amidst the ruins. I don’t know the date nor circumstances, but I’m sure it was in the newspaper. If you know the details feel free to contact me at albionfp@hotmail.com and I’ll pass the information along.

Here is the list of rent payers. There are spelling errors of course, but I have kept the names "as listed" here. Do you recognize any of these persons or Albion surnames? How many of these remained in public housing in the 1950s, and how many of these subsequently established their own private homesteads? The number before the name is the trailer number the person lived in. Some numbers are missing or were vacant.

1. Vacant, 2. Hernandz, 3. Ejronie B. Carter, 4. Vacant, 5. Laverne Holmes, 6. Frederico Cordoba, 7. Ernest Innman, 8. Curtis Allen, 9. Elmer Mizner, 10. Mike Aquilar.

11. Robert Harper, 13. Cowan Stallings, 14. Cipriano Batello, 15. LeRoy Johnson, 16. Bill Gaddis, 17, Ned Davis, 18. Eddie Wallace, 19 & 20. Vacant, 21. Fred McCleary, 22. Wiley Walker, 23, Charles Etchison, 24. Anisteo Soldivar, 25. Harold Connelly, 26. Elizear Gonzales, 27. Isadore Kirkland, 28. Claude McCleary, 29. Hugh Lawler, 30. Frank Goins, 31-34. Vacant, 35. Henry Swain, 36. James Thomas, 37. Willie Warner, 46. Robert Morhead, 47. George Stallworth, 48. Louis Flores, 49. Hurry Williams, 50. John Searcy, 51. Robert Benavidez, 52. James Stone.

53. James Kirkland, 54. Robert D. Hutchino, 55. James Britten, 56. Willie Wilks, 57. Willene Palmer, 58. Dayton Johnson, 69. Max Sullivan, 60. Wilson Cathy, 61. Joe Blair, 62. Vacant, 63. Emilo Morals, 64. Ervie Etchison, 65. Pablo Alcoren, 66. Spencer L. Readus, Jr., 67. Dallas Blevins, 68. Henry Lawler, 69. Carl Neal, 70. E. J. Mitchell, 71. Bobby L. Moore, 72. John Brown, 73. George Carlisle, 74. Grover Swain.

75. Louise J. Carlisle, 76. Willie J. Lane, 77. James Gamble, 78. J. C. Clark, 79. Henry Hunter, 80. Louis Cueller, 81. Vacant, 82. Arthur Williams, 83. Celestiane Johnson, 84. Green Jarrell, 88. Cynthia Weatheroll, 90. John Gamble, 91. Willie Harper, 92. Pedro Contreras.

	Frank Passic — Albion Historian An Albion native and 1971 graduate of Albion High School, Frank Passic has been researching and writing Albion history since 1976. He is the creator of the Albion Historical Notebook, with hundreds of articles appearing weekly in the Morning Star and The Recorder. Frank maintains an extensive personal archive including Riverside Cemetery records, family surname files, genealogies, photographs, city directories, and high school yearbooks. Support his 2026 research at the Historic Albion Michigan Facebook page. Historical Notebook \| From the Archives \| Subject List \| 100 Years Ago \| Alphabetical Index \| Frank Passic Home Page \| Albion History Books \| Contact Frank
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