Matanza of 1915

The marker names one victim. Descendants and the Refusing to Forget project name others in an incomplete list of Mexicans killed in 1915. Near San Benito it records Rodolfo Muniz on July 29, Ventura and Daniel Longoria on September 13, and Norberto Pecina that October. At the Armendaiz Ranch it lists Desiderio Flores, his son Desiderio and Antonio Flores on August 4. Since 2020 an annual Dia de los Muertos walk from Heavin Park has ended at this rest area, and descendants of the dead have joined it.

What the plaque says

Matanza of 1915 In the late 19th and early 20th century, racial tensions near the United States - Mexico border and the lower Rio Grande Valley erupted into violence. The change from ranching to commercial agriculture and a shift in racial hierarchies led to increased discrimination against Mexican Americans and Mexicans in the region. In addition, economic problems and the Mexican Revolution increased the immigrant population to Texas. This influx along with the rise in Anglo immigration to South Texas increased racial tensions. Law enforcement and vigilante groups used violence and intimidation to quell, and at times respond to, a growing movement referred to as Revolucion De Texas. Some Mexicans and Mexican Americans envisioned this movement as a fight against discrimination, while some in law enforcement perceived it as a threat to new Anglo migrations in the area. The section of highway between San Benito and Brownsville was the site of countless killings of prisoners without due process. One of the first victims was Rudolfo Muniz, who was lynched on this road on July 29, 1915, while in the custody of local law enforcement. It is estimated that hundreds, possibly thousands, of Mexican Americans and Mexicans were killed. Out of fear, many families fled Brownsville to Matamoros. A contemporary newspaper editorial referred to this period as the Matanza (Massacre) of 1915. In 1919, the Texas Legislature conducted a formal investigation into state and local law enforcement practices. The Texas Rangers were reorganized as a result. Memories of the Matanza continue through scattered records and oral tradition, reflecting difficulties in recounting this violent yet pivotal time in Texas History. (2014)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park — 9.9 mi
  A flat coastal prairie north of Brownsville where Taylor's army and Arista's Army of the North fought the first major battle of the Mexican War on May 8, 1846, now interpreted from both sides.
• Stillman House Museum — 15 mi
  The 1850 Greek Revival house of Charles Stillman, who laid out Brownsville in 1848 beside the army's Fort Brown, and for a century the home of the Treviño family.
• Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge — 18 mi
  A coastal refuge set up in 1946 for wintering redhead ducks, with 417 bird species recorded and, by the Fish and Wildlife Service's account, the largest ocelot population in the United States.
• Port Isabel Lighthouse State Historic Site — 24 mi
  A 72-foot brick tower finished in 1852 for the Brazos Santiago shipping lane, dark from 1905 until a reproduction lens was lit in 2022, and the only Texas lighthouse open to the public.

More markers nearby

• San Benito — 2.9 mi
• Home of Col. Sam Robertson — 3.0 mi
• Spiderweb Railroad — 3.0 mi
• Baldemar "Freddy Fender" Garza Huerta — 3.3 mi