Forty Acres, Rodrigo Terronez Memorial Clinic, 30172 Garces Highway, Delano, Kern County, CA

See HABS CA-2878, Forty Acres, for additional information about the site.

Significance: The Rodrigo Terronez Memorial Clinic is one of four buildings at Forty Acres, a property closely associated with the life of Cesar Chavez and the

history of the farm worker movement he led from 1962 until his death in 1993. Located on the outskirts of Delano, California, Forty Acres served as the headquarters of the United Farm Workers (UFW) from 1969 to 1972. The property also served as the farm worker movement's flagship "service center," under the auspices of the National Farm Workers Service Center, Inc. (NFWSC), from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. Forty Acres was the site of several significant events between 1968 and 1993, and it continues to serve as an important locus of collective

memory. Forty Acres was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2008.

The Terronez Clinic was the third building constructed at Forty Acres— and the first building constructed with support from the Martin Luther King, Jr., Farm Workers Fund established through the signing of contracts with Delano grape growers in 1970. One of several services managed by the NFWSC, the Terronez Clinic sprang from Cesar Chavez's recognition that collective action encompassed more than just collective bargaining with employers. The Terronez Clinic and the services it housed reflected the comprehensive vision of self-empowerment that defined the farm worker movement.

The clinic building was completed in September 1971 and named in honor of Rodrigo Terronez, one of the union's first vice presidents. Upon completion, the Terronez Clinic became an important symbol of the farm worker movement's purpose, growth, and achievements. For Senator Ted Kennedy, a champion of universal access to health care, the Terronez Clinic was an inspiration and source of hope, especially for families whose access to medical services was severely limited. For farm workers themselves, the Terronez Clinic was a product of self-empowerment.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N2080

Survey number: HABS CA-2878-C

Building/structure dates: 1971 Initial Construction

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 08001090

hispanic heritage labor unions clinics civil rights medical offices mission revival architectural elements mexican americans recycled materials health care facilities asian americans women adobe buildings offices farming strikes political organizations protest movements california robert arzola sabrina blackman allyson bradford inc cal poly pomona foundation pomona california state polytechnic university cesar chavez foundation frank chang cesar chavez richard chavez dennis dahlin cynthia garcia historic american buildings survey luis g hoyos chance jackson theodore kennedy kern county welfare department catherine c lavoie molly malouf jr martin luther king national farm workers health group inc national farm workers service center inc nfwsc national farm workers service center national health service corps virginia price raymond w rast james w rosenthal leah schoelles rodrigo terronez united farm workers photo rodrigo terronez memorial clinic forty acres garces highway kern county politicians senator building plans architecture library of congress national register of historic places

1933 - 1970

Library of Congress

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