San Ygnacio, TX

San Ygnacio, Texas, is here to stay.

In the 171 years since it was founded on the banks of the Rio Grande, the town of 853 has withstood Indian raids, border skirmishes, arson, and cycles of drought, heavy rains, and the threat of floods. Fifty years ago, the town was scheduled to be purchased and condemned to make way for the new Falcon Dam and reservoir on the Rio Grande.

That was a major low point. Historic towns on both sides of the border were condemned and relocated out of the water’s path, but San Ygnacio refused to go under. Residents successfully petitioned to have the town excluded from condemnation, saying it was high enough to escape any reservoir flooding. Two years later, the flood of 1953 caused widespread damage in town.

The dam and reservoir, built by the United States and Mexico to conserve water and control flooding along the river, is now the site of a popular state park with a 60-mile-long lake for fishing and recreation.

These days San Ygnacio’s survival means preserving America’s largest collection of hand-built, sandstone structures dating to the 19th century. The buildings comprise a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places that includes a plaza, a mission-style church, and flat-roofed homes built with sandstone blocks carved from the riverbanks, plastered with lime and sand bound with cactus juice.

Most town residents live within the district. Rancher Maria Eugenia Guerra owns two of these historic homes. “The walls, the doors, the hinges, and the closures tell you stories,” she says. “If you are from that place, they are telling you your story, how your great-great-grandparents built things. How they protected themselves against the weather, and what they valued.”

The San Ygnacio-based River Pierce Foundation—the name refers to the foundation “piercing” the Rio Grande with cross-border cooperation—has taken the lead in educating people about saving historic buildings and the borderlands culture. Michael Tracy, an artist who restored a historic residence as his home, formed the foundation in 1990.

Executive Director Christopher Rincon speaks passionately about understanding stories and culture through historic sites.

“What it meant to come to the edge of the world and not only survive but leave a mark on the face of the planet forever—that is the spirit we want to resurrect,” he says.

Ten years ago, the community chose restoration when Nuestra Senora del Refugio Roman Catholic Church was damaged by arson. Volunteers removed the charred, modernized walls, ceiling, and floor to reveal original features. The town held food and craft sales and sought donations to match a grant from a Dallas foundation to cover the $200,000 project.

“It was a miracle,” says Victoria Uribe, who headed the fund-raising committee. “The more we worked the more people gave.”

San Ygnacio, established in 1830 as a ranching outpost of the Spanish colonial settlement of Old Guerrero, Mexico, was named for Guerrero’s patron saint, Ignatius Loyola.

That same year, Jesus Trevino, the town’s founder, built a one-room stone house. Eventually, that Trevino-Uribe Rancho, known locally as “El Fuerte,” was expanded into a larger, L-shaped home and fortress with decorative medallions, mesquite doors, and forged latches. In 1998, the fortress was designated a National Historic Landmark.

The River Pierce Foundation bought the north end of the ranch from Trevino-Uribe descendants and hopes to raise $1 million to restore it and turn a 50-year-old store it also owns into a visitors’ center opposite the plaza.

The foundation stresses preservation over modernization to protect a rich heritage of the town within Los Caminos del Rio, the “Roads of the River” heritage corridor from Laredo to Brownsville. The National Trust for Historic Preservation this year listed the corridor as one of the 11 most endangered historic places in the United States.

“The last two generations of people in San Ygnacio are aware of the reality of historical preservation versus the threat of forgetting,” Rincon says.

If the town’s past is any clue, that heritage won’t be forgotten.

Lauraine Miller is a freelance writer in Corpus Christi.

Upload Your Own Stories, Photos and Videos

Every week, American Profile magazine brings you stories that celebrate the people and places that make America great. Now we want to hear your stories and see your photos, videos and even audio.

 Start Uploading Now!

 

Discuss this Article