Texas Porch

Labor History

The 1927 Peonage Cases Exposed Forced Labor in Willacy County

In 1927, federal prosecutors tried nine Willacy County residents for forcing laborers to work off debts under armed guard — the first peonage prosecutions in Texas history.

Willacy County History & Culture

In January 1927, a federal court in Texas tried nine people from Willacy County for peonage — the illegal practice of holding people in debt bondage. Workers, many of them Mexican and African American, were arrested on vagrancy charges. Friendly farmers paid their fines, then forced them to pick cotton under armed guard to repay the debt. Over 400 vagrancy cases were documented in Raymondville during this period.

Five defendants were convicted. The cases drew national attention and were the first of their kind in Texas. They exposed how Anglo landowners used the local justice system to control farm labor. The Handbook of Texas documents this history at tshaonline.org.

Source to confirm: Handbook of Texas — Raymondville Peonage Cases

More Willacy County notes

Property Tax

Two Offices Handle Your Property Tax in Willacy County

One office sets your property value; a separate office sends the bill and collects payment.

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Homestead Exemption

Homestead Exemption Can Lower Your Tax Bill in Willacy County

If this home is where you live, you may qualify for a homestead exemption that reduces what you owe in property taxes.

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Windstorm Insurance

Willacy County Homeowners May Need Separate Windstorm Insurance

Willacy County is one of 14 Texas coastal counties where the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) provides wind and hail coverage as a last-resort insurer.

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Hunting

Deer Hunting in Willacy County Follows South Zone Rules

Willacy County is in the Texas South Zone for deer hunting, with a bag limit of 5 deer per season and a general season that typically runs into January.

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