Century-Old Secret Lies Below the Turtle House in Sunset Heights

There's nothing like learning a history lesson about a century-old secret that happened right in your hometown. There are new things we continue to learn about El Paso that we didn't learn in school. For example, there is a house in El Paso some of us have wondered about it over the years.

This house happens to be located in the Sunset Heights neighborhood that has a big symbol of a turtle on it. I was today years old (maybe you as well) when I learned about the turtle house. Driving near the turtle house for so many years left some of us wondering more about it.

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Thanks to WGN News, for teaching us what we have wondered over the years about the secrets that lay beneath the turtle house in Sunset Heights. There were a few theories that were associated with the secret tunnels that lay underneath the turtle house. But only one of the theories seemed to make more sense and fits well with the turtle house.

President Chester A. Author had signed the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882. The Chinese Exclusion Act prohibited all immigration of Chinese laborers. The Chinese Exclusion Act became active on May 6, 1882.

So that turtle you've noticed on the turtle house is a symbol that represents a safe place for the Chinese. The owners are happy to welcome and open their doors to a professional group that can excavate the turtle house.