Zapata grew from a village on the Rio Grande's north bank settled from Revilla, now Ciudad Guerrero, with land grants on both banks finalized in 1767. It was first called Habitación, then Carrizo, then Bellville in 1858, and in 1898 it took the name Zapata for Col. Antonio Zapata, the cavalry commander executed after the failure of the Republic of the Rio Grande.
Falcon Dam took the old town. The International Boundary and Water Commission planned the reservoir in the late 1940s, and it would drown more than 115,000 acres of Zapata County and require about 3,000 people to leave the towns of Zapata, Falcon and Lopeño. Four days of rain from August 23, 1953 raised the water and filled the reservoir three years early, forcing immediate evacuation. Residents moved to new towns that lacked water systems, schools and much housing, were paid fair-market rather than replacement value, and mostly lost their mineral rights. They sued, and in 1962 a court ordered additional payments.
The museum opened in 2011 in the newer town of Zapata near the lake and keeps the town's story alongside exhibits on the energy industry, military service, early Catholicism, geology and the native plants and animals of South Texas and northern Mexico. A botanical garden of native species surrounds the building. Hours are limited, so call or check the museum's site before you drive out.
The closest stops worth working into your route
Roadside plaques and monuments within a short detour