In or about the year 1746, Don Jose de Escandon,
Count of Sierra Gorda, was commissioned by the Viceroy of New
Spain to command the exploration and settlement of a large
land area known then as Nuevo Santander. Escandon requested a
fellow explorer to accompany him on this project of exploring
and settling this vast area. Captain Miguel de la Garza Falcon
was Escandon's choice. Falcon personally explored the Northern
bank of the Rio Grande from present day Eagle Pass,
southeastward to the mouth of the Rio Grande. On August 22,
1750, Jose Vazquez Borrego, a rancher from Coahuila, founded
Nuestra Senora de los Dolores Hacienda which is located a few
miles north of present day San Ygnacio. To settle the area,
Vazquez moved 23 families from Coahuila. After a visit to
Dolores in 1753, Escandon wrote to the Viceroy commending
Vazquez and his colonists and noting that the community was
well established. In 1818, after a series of Indian attacks,
Hacienda Dolores was abandoned. The Coahuiltecan Indians were
inhabitants of this area during the 17th and 18th Centuries,
but became extinct by the year 1840.
The town site of
Zapata is the largest in population in the county and is the
county seat. The county and the town carry the name of Colonel
Jose Antonio Zapata. Antonio Zapata was a native of Guererro
Mexico, a village located just across the Rio Grande. He was a
highly respected individual, rancher, a well-known Indian
fighter and an honorable military soldier who gave his life
for the cause of personal liberties during the short lived and
ill fated attempt to establish the Republic of the Rio Grande.
Colonists created a settlement at Carrizo which later became
Zapata about 1770.
Texas proudly relates its history
of having been under six flags- France, Spain, Mexico, The
Republic of Texas, The Confederacy, and the United States.
Zapata County and the surrounding area can add a seventh flag
to their history, that of the Republic of the Rio
Grande.
Until 1821, the area of present day Zapata
County was part of the Spanish province of Nuevo Santander.
From 1821 to 1836, this area was part of Mexico and the
Mexican state of Tamaulipas. From 1836 to 1848, this vast area
was claimed by Texas as well as by Mexico. From March 1840
until November 6, 1840, Zapata County was part of The Republic
of the Rio Grande. The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, signed in
1848, settled the boundary of Mexico and Texas. All land north
of the Rio Grande River became part of the United States, and
all land south of the river remained as part of Mexico.
From 1851-1853, military posts were temporarily
maintained in the area to combat border disturbances and
Indian attacks. However, Indian incursions continued well into
the later part of the 19th century.
The county of
Zapata was created in 1858, when then Texas Governor Peter
Hanborough Bell signed the bill creating the
county.
During the Civil War, Zapata County was a
ranching area with a population of 1248. Because of its
isolation and the fact that there were few white residents and
no slaves, the county remained largely unaffected by the war.
The area's Mexican elite had to band together to protect the
area from renegades such as Juan N. Cortina, who, because of
the absence of federal and state troops, sized the opportunity
to instigate hostilities between the wealthy landowners and
the poor laborers. Despite the threat of violence, the
population continued to grow. By 1870 it reached 1488 and by
1880 the population was 3636. In 1913, due to the Mexican
Revolution, the population of the town of Zapata increased by
about 500 people. The people of old Guerrero fled across the
river to Zapata to seek safety from the horrors of war. Many
of these people already owned property on the American side of
the river, and life was not much different than it had been in
Guerrero.
In the late 1910's, cotton began to be grown
in commercial quantities. The county's farmers were producing
2,000 bales annually. The population by now was up to 4760.
In 1919, petroleum had been discovered in the county
and some oil and gas activity began. A toll bridge between
Zapata and Guerrero, Tamaulipas was completed in 1931. Another
improvement occurred in approximately 1935 when U.S. Highway
83 was completed from Brownsville to Laredo. This connected
Zapata to markets to both the north and the south for the
first time. Due to this new highway, agriculture became
important to the county. Within a period of about 10 years,
Zapata County developed over 12,000 acres under cultivation
and irrigation from the Rio Grande. The cattle, goat and sheep
industries prospered also, as it was now no longer necessary
to drive cattle by land to shipping points. With the new
highway, cattle could be shipped to San Antonio by truck, with
little or no loss of animal lives or weight of the animals.
Two other significant accomplishments of the 1930's included
the establishment of a water system in the town of Zapata, and
the construction of an international bridge across the Rio
Grande connecting Old Guerrero Mexico.
The economy of
the county continued to improve to improve as more progress
developed. Highway 83 was paved in Zapata County in the early
1940's. Falcon Dam was completed in 1954, and within several
months, residents and businesses of Zapata, Ramireno, Falcon
and Lopeno had to relocate farther east of the river on higher
ground. Back to back hurricanes shortly after the completion
of the Dam, filled the lake three years before the projected
date, and expedited the relocation plans. The reservoir
nevertheless was a boon to the county, bringing in
tourism.
Between 1980 & 1990, the area grew
rapidly, as retirees and others attracted by the reservoir
came to take advantage of the low cost of living.
The
Spanish-Mexican culture of the county is very influential, as
this land was, for over 300 years, dominated by the Spanish,
and the Mexicans, or descendants of these two groups of
people. The language, religion, and social traditions were all
passed down from generation to generation.
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