Settled by Spaniards; built by French and German immigrants; promoted by American entrepreneurs; forgotten by all. A world drama of international events has been played out in part on Rio Grande City’s stage. Through the years riots and wars and raids have revived national interest in this small town ... on this quite river ... on the edge of the world.

Los Caminos del Rio Heritage Corridor

Caminos Del Rio Rio Grande City is located in the heart of Los Caminos del Rio Heritage Corridor which stretches 200 miles on both sides of the Rio Grande River from Brownsville/Matamoros to Laredo/Nuevo Laredo. The corridor contains the most significant architectural and historical treasures of the 18th and 19th centuries – treasures that have contributed to the development of Texas and the Southwestern United States.

With more than 600 historic designations, Rio Grande City boasts the highest concentration of historic buildings and sites than any other location in the Caminos del Rio. The buildings are a physical reminder of the tragedies and triumphs that have visited this town since it was settled in 1753.

America's Most Endangered Historic Places

Rio Grande City and Los Caminos del Rio have recently been designated as one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. This designation by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the History Channel will bring needed national exposure to a community interested in restoring its properties and reclaiming its past.

1528-36	Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca treks through Texas and northern Mexico after bing shipwrecked near Galveston. He is believed to have crossed the Rio Grande River somewhere between Laredo and Brownsville.
1686-87	Spaniard Alonso de Leon set out to feret the rumored French colony, Fort St. Louis, established by Rene Robert LaSalle in Texas. De Leon makes two expeditions up the San Juan tributary into the Rio Grande River, near present day Rio Grande City.
1747	Spanish colonizer Jose de Escandon established settlements in the territory of Nuevo Santender spanning from the mouth of the Rio Grande River to present day Laredo. Camargo, Mexico, south of present day Rio Grande City is the first settlement.
1753	Captain Blas Maria De la Garza Falcon established a ranch on the northern side of the Rio Grande to better manage his ranch operations. He calls it Carnestolendas named after the carnival celebration that precedes Lent.
1840	Captain Blas Maria De la Garza Falcon established a ranch on the northern side of the Rio Grande to better manage his ranch operations. He calls it Carnestolendas named after the carnival celebration that precedes Lent.
1844-46	Henry Clay Davis married Maria Hilaria de la Garza, heir to lands north of the Rio Grande River. The Mexican-American War begins and Zachary Taylor transports troops and supplies by steamboat upriver to Rio Grande City. Ringgold Barracks established and named after the first American officer killed on Texas soil during the War.
1848	Davis and Captain Forbes Britton establish Rio Grande City across the Rio Grande River from Camargo, Mexico and west of Camp Ringgold. The town site is platted after the city of Austin. Like Austin, Rio Grande has a boulevard connecting the County Courthouse on a hill with the Rio Grande River as Austin’s Congress Boulevard connects the State Capitol with the Colorado River.
1849	For six long weeks, Naturalist John W. Audubon (son of John James Audubon) is stranded in Rio Grande City as he and a party of nearly 100 adventures make their way to the California Gold Rush. Audubon’s men fall victim to cholera; his expedition’s funds are stolen; and other members of his party desert him. He writes of “the never-to-be-forgotten Rio Grande City”!
1851	Jose Jesus Maria Carbajal calls for the establishment of a new nation composed of lands south of the Nueces River and northern Mexico. The Republic of the Sierra Madre is on its way towards claiming its place on the world stage as its “republican army” captures Mexican cities of Camargo and Reynosa and attacks Matamoros. The U.S. Army arrests Carbajal in Rio Grande City, thus ending hopes for a new republic.
1859	Juan Nepomuceno Cortina, descendent of Mexican aristocracy, launched a series of raids in the Rio Grande Valley. He was hailed a hero and a villain for his attempts to return lands acquired by newly arrived Americans to Mexican families who had held them for generations. The Cortina War ended in Rio Grande City when Cortina, retreating from forces in Brownsville, was driven from Rio Grande City into northern Mexico.
1859-60	Col. Robert E. Lee leaves his post in San Antonio to pursue Cortina along the U.S.-Mexico Border. He spends time at Ringgold Barracks and Rio Grande City but does not encounter Cortina. Lee also tends to a court marshal during his stay at Ringgold Barracks.
1861-65	John Salmon “Rip” Ford uses Ringgold Barracks as a staging ground for raids against Union forces during the U.S. Civil War. Southern cotton is smuggled from Rio Grande City into Mexico and to awaiting English and French ships.
1867-84	Five million cattle are driven north during the world's largest land migration via trails such as the Chisholm Trail that began in the South Texas region.
1870's	French and German refuges fleeing Imperialist Mexico find their way to Rio Grande City where they begin to enrich its architectural character. Heinrich Portscheller, a master mason formerly from Germany, develops a new architectural style combining elements of Roman-Greco influences from Europe with Aztec inspired features from Mexico City.
1888	Journalist and anti-Diaz activist, Catarina Garza, engages in a gun battle with Sheriff W.W. Sheley and U.S. Customs Inspector Victor Sebree. While no one was seriously wounded, Rio Grande City erupted for a few hours as mob rule took hold. Sheley and Sebree sought refuge at Ft. Ringgold, and the mob dispersed after ordered to do so by commanding officer Clendennin. Too late; word had spread that anarchy reigned in Rio Grande. Descending on the small town were the Texas Rangers, sheriffs of surrounding counties, the San Antonio Rifles and the Houston Light Guards were placed on alert.
1899	Steamboat traffic on the Rio Grande ends.
1900-2000	More to come...