Welcome to Agua Prieta. The town’s name is not very appetizing. In English, the town’s name is “Brown Water”. According to the postcard’s AZO stamp box, this street scene photo was taken between 1924 and 1949. The photo shows “Avenue 3” in Agua Prieta. Note the signage in the photograph. There is a restaurant, a cafe, and the Silver $ Dollar Bar. Further down the avenue are some old cars. The town is located in the northeastern corner of the Mexican state of Sonora. It is a border town and is adjacent to the town of Douglas, Arizona. Agua Prieta was developed at the end of the 19th century as railroads were built between Douglas and the Mexican town of Nacozari. The trains would transport minerals and other goods. The first settlers in Agua Prieta were employed by the US mining company Phelps Dodge Corporation. The company was based in Douglas, Arizona. The town of Agua Prieta was unofficially founded in 1899 but did not become an independent municipality until 1916. This photograph was taken long before the fiasco of the current US immigration policy. Today, Douglas has a population of about 16,500 people. Although the town is depressed, the border crossing remains busy. According to US Customs and Border Protection records for 2016, more than 3.8 million people passed through the town’s port of entry on foot, or by car. It is important to note that many of these people were going between Mexico and the US to visit family, conduct business, or shop. Therefore, their visits were of short duration. I hope that Congress will be able to formulate and pass a more rational, humane, and constructive immigration policy; and do so in a timely fashion. (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 
Thank you for bringing to our attention the historical reality that border towns…both north and south were in essence, neighborhoods. Let us uphold this spirit of neighborliness.
You are so right. If Big Government worldwide would stay out of the way, neighborhoods all over the world could exist peacefully. I never made it to Agua Prieta, but love old maps of Mexico (well, ANY old maps) and that town was one of the starting points when I began writing Tierra del Oro. Thanks to inter-library loan and marrying a seller of out-of-print books, I amassed a small reference library that contributed greatly to my love for Mexico and its people.
Thanks for your comment. I am very interested in history and other cultures, so I looked up your books online. Specifically, I focused on Book 1, “Forty Grains of Black Powder: Book One of Tierra del Oro”. Your description of the story as well as the excellent reviews on Amazon, were intriguing. As a result, I ordered the book, and I am eagerly awaiting it’s delivery.
THANK YOU! I am thrilled that you were intrigued and that you took the time to tell me. We never know who orders our books or why, unless the person tells us. I hope you like the story. There’s a long story behind the story, in case you are ever interested. BTW, I had a nice website and a You Tube video for each of the books, but the links in the books and on those sites are temporarily suspended because I need to update both the website and the videos. You can find me on Facebook under Rlb Hartmann AND RLB Hartmann for current information. Or email me.