San Ygnacio

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it: and San Ygnacio has earned every word. Somewhere in the late 1820s, a man named Jesús Treviño made a transaction that would quietly change this corner of South Texas forever. He bought land and a hacienda from the heirs of José Vásquez Borrego.

That purchase, on its own, might have been just another deed in a drawer. But Treviño didn't stop there. He gathered his family, pulled in several residents from nearby Revilla, Mexico (the place now known as Guerrero), and together they built something.

A ranch, a settlement, a community. And they named it for Revilla's own patron saint: San Ignacio de Loyola. Now, by 1830, Treviño had made up his mind to move the whole operation upriver.

And for his new headquarters, he did it right: native sandstone, cut and stacked into a building that meant business. This was not a man thinking about next season. This was a man thinking about the next century.

Time passed, as it does. And in 1851, Treviño's son-in-law, Blás María Uribe, hired a man named José Villarreal to build and place a sundial on the entrance. Just think about that for a moment.

A sundial. On the frontier. Uribe was telling anyone who walked through that gate exactly what kind of place this was going to be.

He kept building; added other structures, one by one; until the whole compound became what people today know as Fort Treviño, or El Fuerte. Uribe was more than a builder, too. He waded into the discussions surrounding the formation of the Republic of the Río Grande.

He and his brothers-in-law, Vicente Gutiérrez and Manuel Benavides García, became active leaders in San Ygnacio. The settlement grew into a regional trade center, sitting right at the crossroads of land and river routes (which, out here, was about as valuable a position as you could hold). In 1873, Uribe deeded land for Nuestra Señora del Refugio Catholic Church.

The town's roots were going deeper with every generation. San Ygnacio was largely a community of farmers and laborers, and it spent many years operating as a duty-free border zone. That arrangement helped it prosper well into the late 19th century.

Then came the 1880s, and with them, the railroad. And the railroad went somewhere else. Bypassed the town entirely.

For a lot of settlements, that was the beginning of the end. But San Ygnacio kept on, sustained by its farming and ranching enterprises, holding its ground while history swirled around it; political upheavals, military operations, the kind of turbulence that the area knew often. Then, in the early 1950s, came a threat of a different kind.

Plans for Falcon Reservoir put the historic townsite squarely in the crosshairs. A committee, headed by Mercurio Martínez, went to work: petitioning government officials, arguing the case for the community's survival. And they won.

The town was spared. It wasn't finished being tested, though. In 1954, flood damage hit San Ygnacio hard.

But the town remained intact. Today, San Ygnacio stands as a unique example of a mid-19th century Texas border town. Those native sandstone structures (built to last by people who intended to stay) are still there.

And it holds the distinction of being considered the oldest inhabited settlement in Zapata County. Jesús Treviño bought some land in the late 1820s. A hundred and seventy-some-odd years later, people are still living in the town that purchase helped build.

Some bets, it turns out, age very well.

What the marker says

In the late 1820s, Jesús Treviño bought land and a hacienda from the heirs of José Vásquez Borrego. Treviño and his family, as well as several residents from nearby Revilla, Mexico (Guerrero), established a ranch and settlement and named it for Revilla's patron saint, San Ignacio de Loyola. In 1830, Treviño moved the ranch upriver, and for his headquarters he constructed a building of native sandstone. In 1851, his son-in-law, Blás María Uribe, had José Villarreal build and place a sundial on the entrance. Uribe later added other structures, forming the compound known today as Fort Treviño, or El Fuerte. Uribe also joined in discussions surrounding the formation of the Republic of the Río Grande. He and his brothers-in-law, Vicente Gutiérrez and Manuel Benavides García, were active leaders in San Ygnacio, which became a regional trade center, with access to land and river routes. In 1873, Uribe deeded land for Nuestra Señora del Refugio Catholic Church. Largely populated by farmers and laborers, and following many years as a duty-free border zone, San Ygnacio continued to prosper late into the 19th century. The settlement, bypassed by the railroad in the 1880s, remained viable through its farming and ranching enterprises. Throughout the years, the area was often involved in political and military operations. In the early 1950s, plans for Falcon Reservoir posed a threat to the historic townsite. A committee headed by Mercurio Martínez successfully petitioned government officials to spare the community. Despite flood damage incurred in 1954, San Ygnacio has remained intact. Today, it is a unique example of a mid-19th century Texas border town, with numerous native sandstone structures, and is considered the oldest inhabited settlement in Zapata County. (2005)