Rio Vista Farm Historic District
Also known as: El Paso County Poor Farm; Camp Rio Vista; Bracero Center
Why it's listed
Rio Vista Farm began in 1915 when El Paso County bought land near Socorro and established a poor farm on part of it. The brick Main Building, with a cruciform plan of four angled wings around a central core, shows Prairie School influence and once housed inmates in separate wards. In 1935 the Texas Transient Bureau and the Works Progress Administration added a quadrangle of adobe buildings called Camp Rio Vista. Plans were drawn by E.R. Nilson. The buildings have stucco finishes, curvilinear Mission Revival parapets and canopies linking them, and include a mess hall, dormitories, offices, an infirmary and a school. The camp sheltered unemployed workers during the Depression and put them to work farming county land. Of 21 original buildings, 17 survive with enough integrity to count as contributing. Later additions, including a 1952 superintendent's residence now used as a sheriff's substation, do not contribute. Cotton fields still surround the complex and keep its early twentieth-century rural setting.
Significance in brief: The district preserves the County Poor Farm, begun in 1915, and the 1935 Camp Rio Vista built by the Texas Transient Bureau and the WPA to house and employ transient workers. The buildings keep their basic forms, materials and fenestration, and the surrounding agricultural setting is largely unchanged. The later Bracero Center is noted for possible future evaluation.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 96000131, listed February 22, 1996. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 800--801 Rio Vista Rd., Socorro |
|---|---|
| County | El Paso County |
| Listed | February 22, 1996 |
| Reference number | 96000131 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Texas Transient Bureau and WPA (1935 complex); E.R. Nilson (camp plans); Percy McGhee (construction supervisor, 1935) |
| Architectural style | Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival; Prairie School |
| Areas of significance | Social History, Politics/Government, Agriculture, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Most resources are one-story buildings that are vacant or used for storage and are generally in good condition. The Main Building houses sheriff's department offices. |
| Acreage | 14 |
| Coordinates | 31.66202, -106.26481 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 96000131.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999588
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.