Hidalgo County, Texas
Mercedes is home to 18 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
Erected 7 April 1960 In recognition of 1007 officers and enlisted men of the 1st North Dakota Infantry, North Dakota National Guard which occupied this area as a camp site 1916-1917. HISTORY Organized as 1st Dakota…
View on map ↗Land developer B. F. Yoakum saw agricultural potential along the Rio Grande and found investors in 1905 for an irrigation project. They purchased 250,000 acres and the townsite of Mercedes for business headquarters. The…
View on map ↗Originally part of a Spanish land grant, Relampago (lightning) Ranch community lay along the stage and military route from Rio Grande City to Brownsville. In 1852 Thaddeus Rhodes (1828-1904) acquired acreage here when…
View on map ↗The oldest Hidalgo County bank still in operation, this institution opened in 1907 in a frame house on Third Street. Incorporators of the firm were area leaders J. M. Johnson, Sr., who served as the first president, his…
View on map ↗This cemetery was established in 1913 on land give by the American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Company to Immanuel Lutheran Church. The cemetery has served Lutherans throughout the Rio Grande Valley. The oldest grave…
View on map ↗The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican War (1846-48) designated the main channel of the Rio Grande as the Mexico-U.S. boundary. Disputes arising from frequent changes in the river's course led to the…
View on map ↗Constructed in 1928 to house the town's municipal offices and fire station, this building was designed by architect R. Newell waters of Weslaco. The two story Gothic style building, constructed of red brick, features a…
View on map ↗Plains Indians made trails near the banks of the rio Grande that were used by Spanish explorers in the 18th century. Early settlers built a road close to the river bank connecting their ranches. Later called the…
View on map ↗The town of Mercedes was platted by the Capisallo Town and Improvement Company in 1907. The Oblate Provincial Council in Austin requested that the company provide a site for a Catholic church, and Our Lady of Mercy…
View on map ↗Antonio Cano (1811-1877) established Rancho Guadalupe at Campacuas in 1836. That year, he wed Mauricia Fernandez (1814-1906) in Reynosa, Mexico. The couple had five children. The original Cano Ranch, enlarged through…
View on map ↗This cemetery, named for the land's clusters of ebony trees, began in 1922. The American Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Company developed Mercedes and about 200 square miles of adjacent farmlands, also deeding nearly…
View on map ↗On October 8, 1908, Isadore Moritz published the first issue of the Mercedes Enterprise. He continued the operation until 1914; that same year, Ben E. Brooks and L.T. Hoyt began the Mercedes Tribute. Another paper, the…
View on map ↗The Rev. E. J. Moebus was sent by officials of the Texas district of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod to establish Lutheran congregations in the Rio Grande Valley. Evangelical Lutheran Emanuel Church organized at…
View on map ↗During the 1910s, several Hidalgo and Cameron County families founded a small Jewish congregation. The temple lacked a permanent Rabbi; lay readers led most services, while a student Rabbi was hired to lead high holy…
View on map ↗Hector P. Garcia Library, SE corner of Ohio & 5th
View on map ↗In March 1917, prior to U.S. entry into World War I, Maj. Gen. John J. Pershing chose Mercedes as the site of a permanent camp for training personnel to serve overseas in France. Construction of Camp Mercedes on the…
View on map ↗OUR LADY OF MERCY CATHOLIC CHURCH IN 1908, THE CAPISALLO LAND COMPANY DONATED LAND TO THE OBLATE FATHERS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF A CATHOLIC CHURCH. OUR LADY OF MERCY CATHOLIC CHURCH ON HIDALGO STREET WAS DEDICATED IN…
View on map ↗The City of Mercedes put on its first Livestock Show in 1913 in a building at Second St. and the Mercedes Canal. The purpose of the exhibition was to provide farmers with information about livestock and agriculture. The…
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