The Bensenville Railroad Museum will host a special temporary exhibit, “Mexican Boxcar Camps Era in Aurora, Illinois: 1920-1960,” from June 16 through Aug. 16 at Veterans Park, located at the intersection of Church Road and Main Street in Bensenville.
The family-friendly exhibit will be open during regular museum hours: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Created by historian and author Dr. Alejandro Benavides, the exhibit explores the lives of Mexican railroad workers, known as traqueros, and their families who lived in Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad boxcar camps in Aurora between 1920 and 1960.
The exhibit features detailed HO scale-model railroad modules depicting the three Aurora boxcar camps where Mexican railroad workers established some of the region’s earliest Mexican American communities. Visitors also will find excerpts from Benavides’ book, A Community Narrative: The First Mexican Community in Aurora, Illinois, along with historical photographs, documents and personal stories selected for display by Program Supervisor Katrina Frank.
Additional displays include a model depicting railroad workers laying track and a Día de los Muertos ofrenda honoring children and adults who lost their lives while emigrating from Mexico to the United States.
The scale-model railroad displays provide visitors with a unique perspective on the daily lives of railroad workers and their families. Children can discover miniature scenes featuring workers, families and community life, while adults can explore historically researched recreations of the railroad camps, industries and architecture that helped shape early Mexican communities in northern Illinois.
“Dr. Alejandro Benavides has graciously offered to lend us some of the models he has made and the research he has collected about the Eola Boxcar camp in Aurora,” Frank said. “Our goal is for young people in the Bensenville, Wood Dale, Elmhurst and Addison area to be able to learn more about this part of Latine and American history.”
According to exhibit organizers, the three-dimensional railroad modules help bring history to life by providing a visual and interactive way for families to learn together. The displays encourage visitors to explore the geography, architecture and stories that defined the Mexican boxcar camp era while fostering conversations about immigration, community building and railroad history.
Admission to the exhibit is free. Visitors are encouraged to stop by during museum hours to experience this unique look at an important chapter of local, railroad and Mexican American history.
For more information about the Bensenville Railroad Museum and its programs, visit BvilleParks.org/Train.
