Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua
Encyclopedia
Ciudad Cuauhtémoc is a city
Settlement classification in Mexico
Mexico's states classify their settlements in a variety of fashions:-Aguascalientes:Under Article 106 of the Municipal Law of the State of Aguascalientes, the state defines its settlements as follows:...

 located in the west-central part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It serves as the seat of the municipality of Cuauhtémoc.

Cuauhtémoc lies 103 km (64 mi) west of the state capital of Chihuahua
Chihuahua, Chihuahua
The city of Chihuahua is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It has a population of about 825,327. The predominant activity is industry, including domestic heavy, light industries, consumer goods production, and to a smaller extent maquiladoras.-History:It has been said that the...

. The city had a 2005 census population of 98,725 inhabitants, while the municipality had a population of 134,785. The municipality, which has an area of 3,018.9 km² (1,165.6 sq mi), includes many smaller outlying communities, the largest of which is Colonia Anáhuac. Cuauhtémoc is the fifth-largest city in population in the state of Chihuahua.

Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua State, Mexico, is a town located 120 km (75 mi.) west of the city of Chihuahua in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. The population in 1953 was just under 3,000, composed almost entirely of Mexicans with the exception of foreign-born people who have come there as traders. The town of Cuauhtémoc developed after the coming of the Mennonites in the 1920s although very few Mennonites lived in town, for it was the Mennonite shopping center. A railroad, a highway, and a bus line connected Cuauhtémoc with Chihuahua.

The Cuauhtémoc area is the home of around 50,000 Mennonite people divided into various colonies that surround the city.

The climate in the municipality is semiarid—temperate, ranging from winter temperatures of -5 to 12 Celsius with frequent snowfalls to summer temperatures of 20 to 32 Celsius with strong hailstorms that create damage in surrounding fields.

The Mennonites settled in the San Antonio Valley, as far as 120 km (75 mi.) to the north of the town. In the early 1950s there were no improved roads leading from the hinterland into Cuauhtémoc. There was a General Conference Mennonite Church
General Conference Mennonite Church
The General Conference Mennonite Church was an association of Mennonite congregations based in North America from 1860 to 2002. The conference was formed in 1860 when congregations in Iowa invited North American Mennonites to join together in order to pursue common goals such as higher education...

 in the town composed almost entirely of Mennonite refugees who came to Mexico after World War I. The growth of the Mennonite population due to natural increase and to additional immigration from Canada stimulated its economic activities. A small cereal factory was established by non-Mennonites, while a large cheese factory, slaughterhouse, and ice plant were erected by Mennonites (the Redekops) in the town. In 1947 the Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee
The Mennonite Central Committee is a relief, service, and peace agency representing 15 Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:...

 established a service unit in Cuauhtémoc to provide health services, recreational direction, and assistance in educational activities of German-speaking children

In 2005 Cuauhtémoc, one of the fastest-growing cities in Mexico, had 98,725 inhabitants. A four-lane highway, completed in 1986, connected the city with the city of Chihuahua , the state capital. Another highway connected Cuauhtémoc with Col. Anahuac, where a large pulp mill is located. The Gran Vision highway, which is to be continued to the west coast through the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains, joins the city to the western hinterlands, and another highway leaving the city passes through the Mennonite colonies to the north (Manitoba Colony).

The apple industry, introduced to the area by a former Old Colony Mennonite, Enrique Wiebe, has contributed much to the rapid growth of the city. The influx of American industry in the mid-1980s, is also attracting people from all over the Republic. Doctors, dentists, and lawyers abound. Elementary, secondary, preparatory, and technology schools are numerous. One agricultural school, incorporated with the University of Chihuahua, is located in Cuauhtémoc, and the one incorporated Mennonite elementary and secondary school, Alvaro Obregon, is located on the outskirts at Quinta Lupita.

Although the city, formerly called San Antonio de los Arenales, developed only after the arrival of the Old Colony Mennonites in 1922, it has practically no Mennonites living in it. However, the streets and the numerous banks teem with them, especially on Monday mornings. Cuauhtémoc is the most important commercial center for Old Colony Mennonites in Chihuahua.

In the early 1930s the recent Mennonite immigrants from the Soviet Union (Rußländer) formed a Mennonite congregation in the town, but by 1987, it had disintegrated completely. The few Mennonite families and General Conference Mennonite Church and Mennonite Central Committee workers living in the city in 1986 (5 families and 5 singles) worshipped mostly at the General Conference congregation at Kilometer 11. Cuauhtémoc was the first city to erect a senior citizens home under public or government jurisdiction. Its first matron was a Mennonite, Maria Giesbrecht, from the Santa Rita Colony (Nord Colony).
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