In the early 1900s, the white business community of the small central Texas town of Gonzales had its eyes set on the future and on expansion. Their grand ambitions were closely connected to the fast development in the region’s infrastructure and agriculture that had been gaining speed since the 1880s. Alongside this development, there seemed to be a considerable potential for small-scale industries and commercial expansion, and the Gonzales businessmen were eager to be part of this.
This seemingly bright imagined future was nevertheless seriously complicated by a series of interrelated factors of the time: A growing and more ethnically diverse population (from Europe, other US states and Mexico); a high level of violence; and new and conflicting ideas about progress, history, community and belonging. These factors all increased uncertainty within the business community and challenged their ambitions.
The turn of the century was in this sense a period of intersecting developments and factors that challenged the homogeneity, power and opportunities of the white business community. Gonzales was furthermore located in the spatial intersection of the South, the West, and the Mexican border region, which combined into a contested Texan identity with business and the individual at center.
In this paper I discuss how the business community of small-town central Texas tried to navigate this complexity and how they activated place, locating Gonzales at the center of the US, and a series of partially conflicting historical narratives as part of this effort. The study is based on a broad range of source material, from press coverage and court cases to census lists, local maps and monuments. With its particular focus on space, temporality and narrative, this paper contributes with a novel perspective to the broader discussion of American business, conflict and identities at the turn of the 20th century.