THE REAL HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN OF MATAMOROS, TAMAULIPAS

 (Ed.'s Note: The following narrative on the founding of Matamoros was posted here some 14 years ago. One of our readers reminded us that we had posted it and asked if we still had the original Spanish version. Unfortunately, we did not. We found one that originally appeared in El Bravo and translated it for our Spanish-challenged readers. We thank our reader for reminding us.)

"Mi Matamoros Querido"

By Oscar Treviño Jr.

While colonization was under way by 1749, Matías de los Santos Coy decided to establish a livestock ranch called "San Juan de los Esteros Hermosos." The location of that first effort at settling the area is near what is today the intersection of Calle Quinta y Matamoros. Esteros refers to what we call "resacas" on the Brownsville side.

However, Santos Coy had to give up that effort because of constant attacks by local natives who did not show a propensity to be "civilized."
That's the reason why today Santos Coy is not considered one of the founding settlers of the city.

Two years before, José de Escandón wrote a letter to the Crown saying that this place – Matamoros – was an inadequate place to build a town because of the annual flooding of the Rio Grande and because of the poor drainage of the land that caused outbreaks of yellow fever and pestilence.

Nonetheless, in 1747, 12 families came down from Camargo and Reynosa upriver and they founded a congregation called "San Juan de los Esteros Hermosos", and choosing, coincidentally, the same spot chosen temporarily by Santos Coy.

In 1784 they filed the paperwork to purchase 113 sitios de ganado mayor- something like 17. 5 square kilómeters - claiming that they had lived on the site for more than 10 years. The owner of the land, Don Andrés Vicente o Antonio de Urízar, who didn't know his property named Don Ignacio del Valle as his representative in the transaction. The families named Ignacio Anastacio de Ayala as their representative and the deal was consummated with Diego de Lasaga, the political and military governor of the colonia del Nuevo Santander present as well as Pedro Félix Campuzano, the judge commissioned by the government for the mediation of lands.

Even though the families signed the documents on October 18, 1784 in San Felipe de Linares, Nuevo León, with Juan Jacinto de Lanuza, Andrés Vicente de Urízar's new representative, it wasn't until January 3, 1785, when the transaction was finalized.
In this way, large tracts of the land and big ranches started being identified with the names and geographic characteristics of the livestock raised by the original 12 families .

For example, the ranch owned by Juan José Cisneros who was married to María Antonia Villarreal, was identified by locals as "Cabras Pintas".
Don Juan Nepomuceno Cisneros Villarreal, who was married to María Teresa Salinas, owned the ranch called "La Canasta."

Don Miguel Chapa, married to María Teresa Treviño, owned "El Chapeño."
Don Santiago Longoria, married to María Hinojosa, owned "El Longoreño.
Don José Antonio de la Garza Falcón, married to Josefa Villarreal, owned "El Falconeño."
Don Antonio de la Garza, married to María Salomé Sepúlveda, owned the now-famous "El Tahuachal."

Don Luis Antonio García Rodríguez, married to María Rosalía de la Garza, owned the horse ranch "Los Gachupines."
Don Ramón Longoria, married to Josefa García, owned "La Barranca" and "El Capote,"along with Marcelino Longoria and his wife Francisca de la Serna.

Don José de Hinojosa, married to Antonia Benavides, owned "La Palma."
Juan José Solís, married to María Gertrudis Hinojosa, owned "El Soliseño."
Nicolás de Vela, married to María García, were owners of the ranch "Las Animas" along with José Antonio Cavazos y Gertrudis Cantú.

Some of the original names that were given to these areas still persist.