San Ygnacio

Before dawn on June 15, 1916, a patrol out of the 14th Cavalry camp just outside San Ygnacio was fired on from the brush. Troops I and M, about 150 men under Major Alonzo Gray, fought from trenches and held. Army records list three enlisted men killed; the raiders lost six to eight. Historians still dispute whether the attackers were Carrancista soldiers or Sediciosos tied to the Plan de San Diego. Within days Washington sent the remaining National Guard regiments to the border, and the raids on this stretch stopped by July.

What the plaque says

San Ygnacio 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)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Ygnacio Historic District — steps away
  A Rio Grande village of sandstone houses on land granted in 1750, home to the Treviño-Uribe Rancho, a fortified family compound begun in 1830 and a National Historic Landmark.
• Zapata County Museum of History — 14 mi
  The museum of a county whose old town of Zapata went under Falcon Reservoir, keeping the photographs, artifacts and natural history of the families who were moved.

More markers nearby

• Old Ramireño — 4.5 mi
• Zapata County — 9.0 mi
• Site of Uribeño. — 9.0 mi
• In the Vicinity of this Site was Mission Revilla a Visita — 15 mi