Foreword
Good cheap land! To those hardy people who had followed the receding American frontier and lived on its edge most of their lives, those were magic words. Land was not only the source of wealth, but wealth itself. The trouble was, in 1900, there was precious little such land left within the boundaries of the United States. But good cheap land could be had south of the border. That simple fact led to the organization of the Blalock Mexico Colony, and the emigration of approximately five hundred American citizens to Mexico to settle and establish homes on the tract of land purchased by the colony.
The objective of the colony was to settle at least one hundred families on its land, committing itself under bond to the Mexican Government, that such number would establish homes theron within twelve months of the acquisition of the property. That was a considerable undertaking, and it began with the selling of the idea that those who joined up would have this last great chance for good, cheap land. The proposal, which attracted immediate and favorable attention was this: Five hundred acres for one thousand dollars. That was cheap enough!
The inducement was sufficient to overcome the doubt and uncertainty the venture entailed. It would not be just a move from one state to another as all had experienced in coming to Greer County, but a move into a new world, where the people and their language would be strange, where the flora and fauna of that tropical land would also be strange, and where there would be hazards to health and happiness they could not foresee. There would be the trauma of uprooting families and of severing ties with relatives and friends. It would mean a complete new beginning in their lives.
They went in numbers sufficient to meet the prescribed conditions, and they encountered difficulties and hardships beyond their anticipation. They knew what they could do with the land, and they were confident of their will to persevere to succeed, but they could not know that the one element in which they had the most confidence, the stability of the Mexican Government, would bring a tragic end to their dreams. What they endured proved that the "Cheap Land" they sought was much too dear in the end.
The full story of how this was accomplished, by whom and to what end, remains to be told. Several have made the attempt and have abandoned the project, owing to the paucity of documents; the colony records not having survived the Mexican Revolution. I have strong personal reasons for writing this history.
