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The modern history of this piece of
land in the middle of the Wild Horse Desert began on June 27, 1834, when
Jose Manuel de Chapa, a resident of Camargo, was granted 5 leagues
(22,400 acres) of land by the Mexican government. Land grants this large
were generally made to prominent citizens, and were also primarily for
the purpose of grazing cattle and horses. Jose Manuel de Chapa paid 50
pesos to the Mexican Treasury at Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, to obtain
the grant, which he named “La Encantada”. The Governor of the state
of Tamaulipas, Francisco Vital Fernandez, made the grant on behalf of
the Mexican government. The land grant is 5 square leagues of land, 250
cordeles in length and 200 cordeles in width, and is bounded on the west
by lands granted to Rafael Garcia (known as “La Mesteña”) and on
the east by the land grant named “Encino del Pozo”, which was made
to Jose Manuel’s son Luciano de Chapa. Riding from Camargo on
October 2, 1834, Jose Manuel de Chapa, the alcalde Jose Antonio Falcon
and two witnesses, Jose Antonio Contreras and Pedro de la Garza, reached
La Encantada two days later on October 4, 1834. On that day, Jose Manuel
de Chapa took possession of La Encantada by performing the required
ritual of thanking the government of Tamaulipas, throwing water on the
land, cutting grass, pulling weeds, and throwing dirt in all four wind
directions.
The La Encantada and Encino
del Pozo land grants in southern Brooks County, Texas, encompassed nine
leagues, or about 38,856 acres. Shown on the map are the
approximate locations of four of the original ranches, as well as the
modern communities of Encino and Rachal. FM 755 is the road going
west from Rachal to Rio Grande City.
How much use Jose Manuel de Chapa made of La Encantada is not known.
He must have at least grazed cattle and horses and may have built a few jacales
to serve as sleeping quarters when he or his vaqueros came to La
Encantada. But he also undoubtedly suffered greatly from Indian raids,
because less than three years after taking possession, Jose Manuel de
Chapa sold his interest in La Encantada stating that the sale was due to “…de recivir
perjuicios sintamano en el cultivo de dro terreno por las diarias
incursiones que hacen en el las tribus salbajes…” (the damages done
by the daily incursions of savage tribes). The phrase "savage
tribes" obviously refers to Indians; however, one has to note that
this was just one year after Texas had gained its independence from
Mexico and La Encantada was situated right in the middle of the disputed
territory between the Nueces River (Mexico's claim for the southern
boundary of Texas) and the Rio Grande River (the Texan claim for the
southern boundary). Raids within this disputed territory could have been
conducted by Indians, Texans or Mexicans, all taking advantage of the
lack of well organized law enforcement within the disputed territory. Whatever his motives, Jose Manuel de Chapa sold La Encantada
to Antonio Martinez on April 10, 1837, for 300 pesos, or a 500% profit
in less than three years.
Antonio Martinez was a resident of Matamoros and had apparently also
bought the “Encino del Pozo” land grant from Manuel's son Luciano de Chapa,
probably on the same date he bought La Encantada. The
Encino del Pozo land grant consisted of 4 sitios, or approximately
17,714 acres (surveying errors led to the unequal leagues). Antonio
Martinez must have been a land speculator because less than two weeks
would pass before he sold his interests in both La Encantada and Encino
del Pozo. He sold to another resident of Matamoros, French Strother, for
932 pesos on April 22, 1837. Assuming Antonio Martinez paid the same per
acre price for Encino del Pozo that he did for La Encantada, then his
sale netted him almost a 75% profit in less than two weeks. [NOTE: The Spanish deed recorded in Vol. 1, page 247, of the Deed Records of Brooks County gives the new owner's name as French Strother. This is probably the same man referred to as French Strather in the book I Would Rather Sleep in Texas, by the McAllen family. The authors of that book state that French Strather was a merchant from Virginia who owned a mercantile in Matamoros, and that he was expulsed from Matamoros, along with other mercants, at the beginning of The Mexican War by General Pedro de Ampudia.]
The new owner, French Strother, managed to hold onto La Encantada and
Encino del Pozo for almost a year. He finally sold his interests in both
tracts to Frederick (also referred to as Federico) Belden, another resident of Matamoros, on March 15,
1838, for 500 pesos. French Strother must have fallen on hard financial
times or been deeply discouraged in utilizing the land because he sold
at a big loss -- he lost 432 pesos, or about 46% of his investment, in
less than 11 months.
Frederick (or
Federico) Belden, the new owner, was a member of a
prominent and powerful family from Matamoros. Members of the Belden
family were frequent business partners of Charles Stillman, the founder
of Brownsville. After the Mexican War, Samuel A. Belden had formed a
partnership with Mifflin Kenedy to trade in Mexico; in December 1848,
Samuel A. Belden, Charles Stillman and Simon Mussina formed the
Brownsville Town Company and began selling lots in the town site they
called Brownsville. Frederick Belden (brother of Samuel A. Belden)
incorporated the Western Artesian Well Company on November 14, 1857; his
partners were Stillman, Forbes N. Britton, Henry Redmond, D. S. Howard
and H. Clay Davis. Later, in 1880, James Belden (perhaps a son of Samuel A.
Belden) was among the men who
received a concession from the Mexican president to build a railroad
from Matamoros to Monterrey, where Stillman and Belden had large
investments. Soon after purchasing the La Encantada land grant
Frederick Belden moved to Corpus Christi, probably in the year 1840, and
became a prominent businessman and rancher there (Belden Street in
Corpus Christi is named after him).
La Encantada remained under the control of the Beldens for about 34
years, until May 16, 1872, when Mauricia Arocha Belden, the widow of
Frederick (or Federico) Belden, sold La Encantada (probably including Encino del Pozo) to Gregorio Villarreal for $3000.
Gregorio Villarreal, a resident of Camargo, was the great-grandfather of
Zoila Villarreal, my mother.
Gregorio Villarreal was still residing in Camargo
when he died in 1882 and it is doubtful that he ever actually
established a permanent home at La
Encantada. I believe that Gregorio Villarreal used La Encantada
and Encino del Pozo only for their stated purpose when they were
initially granted to the Chapas -- as "agostadero", or for the
grazing of livestock.
Within a year after purchasing La Encantada, Gregorio Villarreal
began selling off 1-league parcels to other citizens of Camargo,
starting with the most westerly league of land and proceeding east. First,
on a date I have not yet determined, he sold the most westerly league of land to
Eligio Garcia (whose future grandsons were Esteban and Eligio Garcia). Then, on September 25, 1873, Gregorio
Villarreal sold the second most westerly league of land to Manuel Perez.
Gregorio then sold, on that same date of September 25, 1873, the third
most westerly league to Juan Longoria, my father's
great-grandfather. Sometime
later, Gregorio apparently sold the fourth most westerly league of land to
his brother Sabas Villarreal, whose wife, Isabel Ramirez, was a first cousin of Gregorio’s wife Maria Ysidora
Ramirez
Family oral history indicates that the first ranch to be located on
the La Encantada land grant was named "La Mesa" and was
founded by Manuel Perez on the southern part of the league he had purchased.
The next ranch to be founded was probably "Tacubaya" by
the Garcia's on the northern part of the league the elder Eligio Garcia had
purchased.
The league purchased by Juan Longoria, who was to become
a compadre of Gregorio Villarreal three years later, was adjacent
to the Perez league. The league purchased by Juan Longoria encompasses
lands known today as “Santirenea” or “Santa Yrinea”, after a
ranch named after Juan Longoria's wife Yrinea Villarreal. Sometime
later, Gregorio apparently sold the fourth league of land from the La
Encantada grant to his brother Sabas Villarreal, the husband of Isabel Ramirez, the
first cousin of Gregorio’s wife Maria Ysidora Ramirez, giving rise to
a ranch named "Santa Isabel".
Family oral history states that the first ranch
established by the Villarreal family on La Encantada was named "El
Tepeguaje", at a site situated on lands later sold to Scott &
Hopper. After the sale to Scott & Hopper, Celso Villarreal, a
son of Gregorio Villarreal, established a ranch called La Primavera, situated
due west from
“La Mota de la Encantada”, a grove of white oak trees noted on the
original survey map of La Encantada for Juan Manuel de Chapa. La Primavera
ranch grew to include many houses by the 1920’s, but as the land began
to be partitioned and in some cases sold off, the ranch site eventually
was razed and disappeared sometime in the 1940’s or 1950’s.
Today the site of La Primavera is no longer on lands owned by any of the
heirs of Gregorio Villarreal.
At some point, probably simultaneously with the La Encantada
purchase, Gregorio Villarreal apparently also purchased the Encino del
Pozo land grant because after he died his estate included a total of 5
leagues of land, one league from the La Encantada grant and four leagues
from the Encino del Pozo grant.
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The
heading on the cover page of the Inventory of the estate of
Gregorio Villarreal, purchaser of the La Encantada and Encino
del Pozo land grants. The inventory contains 36 pages
and details each child's inheritance. |
Gregorio
Villarreal died on January 4, 1882, his wife having preceded him in
death by six and one-half years. On September 15, 1882, the heirs
gathered to approve and receive their respective inheritances. The
Inventory and Partition of the Estate of Don Gregorio Villarreal Garza
and wife included 5 sitios, or leagues, of land in “La Encantada”.
This obviously refers to the remaining acreage that Gregorio Villarreal
owned in both the La Encantada and Encino del Pozo tracts. The history
of purchases and the resulting ownership may help explain why the two
grants were combined into one by the Texas legislature when they were
confirmed on June 17, 1904.
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The
8th page of the Inventory of the estate of Gregorio Villarreal
itemizes the “Ganado Bacuno” (sic), or cattle livestock, and
“Ganado Caballar” , or horse livestock. |
As
for livestock, Gregorio Villarreal’s estate included 494 head of
cattle and oxen, 232 horses, mares, colts and mules, 21 hogs and 5368
head of sheep and goats. All of the livestock were categorized and
valued accordingly.
The estate was divided equitably by value among the 7 surviving
children, each one receiving a combination of land, livestock and other
property worth $2573.58. Each heir received 1/7 of the 5 sitios of land
in La Encantada, or about 3163.14 acres.
At the time of Gregorio’s death, Juan Longoria owned one league of
land in La Encantada. After Gregorio’s death, Juan Longoria’s son
Ponciano came to control the 1/7 league of land in La Encantada that his
wife Maria Rita Villarreal inherited from her father Gregorio. Nine
years later, Juan Longoria started to increase his landholdings in La
Encantada. In 1891, Juan Longoria purchased 500 acres in La Encantada
from Octaviana Villarreal, another of Gregorio’s heirs. Juan died in
February 1892; however, his widow Yrinea continued the land purchases in
August of the same year by purchasing 250 acres from Romana, another of
Gregorio’s heirs. Yrinea died less than 4 months later and no further
land acquisitions occurred until after the estate of Juan and Yrinea
Longoria was partitioned in February 1897.
The estate of Juan Longoria and wife Yrinea Villarreal de Longoria
included 5178 acres in La Encantada, 4415 acres in Porciones 93 and 94
in Starr County, 2214 acres in Gil Zarate’s La Blanca tract in Hidalgo
County, 1280 acres in the Julian grant in Starr County, 930 acres in the
Rucias tract in Hidalgo County, and 70 acres in Porcion 95 in Starr
County. After dividing the land into 8 equal portions among the heirs,
Ponciano Longoria inherited 647.25 acres in La Encantada which, when
combined with the 3163.14 acres inherited by his wife Maria Rita,
brought Ponciano and Maria Rita’s total landholdings in La Encantada
to 3810.39 acres.
During 1897 and 1898, Ponciano continued to increase his landholdings
in La Encantada, purchasing his seven siblings’ interests in the 750
acres purchased by their parents (a net increase for Ponciano of 656.25
acres) and purchasing 600 acres from Transito Villarreal, another of
Gregorio Villarreal’s heirs. This brought Ponciano and Maria Rita
Longoria’s total landholdings in La Encantada to 5066.64 acres. In one
final transaction in 1910 wherein he traded 132.83 acres in Starr County
for his sister Leonor’s interest in an equal amount of acreage in La
Encantada, Ponciano brought his total landholdings in La Encantada to
5199.47 acres.
Sometime during the early
1900’s, Ponciano Longoria relocated his family from La Grulla to La
Encantada. He first moved his family to a ranch
on his La Blanca lands (on the Gil Zarate tract) and used that as his base
to scout for a suitable location for his new ranch. Some of my
father's younger siblings still recall hearing stories from their
grandmother Maria Rita Villarreal about how, during one of his scouting
missions, Ponciano encountered some Indians living near a natural spring
of water. Once he found a suitable site for his new ranch, Ponciano
commenced the building of homes soon thereafter. He
named his new ranch “Santa Rita”, in honor of his wife Maria Rita
Villarreal.
Not all of Ponciano's
children joined him in the initial move to Santa Rita. Staying behind in La Grulla were some of Ponciano’s married
children, including my grandfather Eugenio. But soon they too would join
their father at Santa Rita. Eugenio would first move his family to
Mission, Texas, where they lived for a short while with his wife’s
step-brother, Manuel Trevino. They then moved to the La Blanca ranch and
remained there until the ranch houses at Santa Rita were constructed, and
moved there probably in the year 1914.
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At
the Santa Rita Ranch, brothers Raul (at left) and Leonel Longoria
pose with their pet calf, circa 1918. |
Ponciano Longoria died in 1915, but the Santa Rita ranch
remained the hub of the Longoria family until 1929, when Ponciano’s wife
Maria Rita died. A few years prior to that, about 1925, Maria Rita had
given each of her six children 200 acres each, with 100 acres fronting the
farm to market road FM 755 and the other 100 acres fronting the highway US
281. The three male children built their own homes on their own 100
acre portions. The two eldest female children were living in homes on
theirs husband's inherited lands. The only ones who remained at the Santa Rita
ranch itself were Ponciano’s youngest daughter Francisca, her husband
Simon Treviño and their children. The ranch continued to be occupied until
1987 when the home in which one of Simon Trevino's sons lived burned down.
The ranch site currently belongs to one of Simon Trevino’s
grandsons, having inherited it from his mother, but many of the original wooden ranch buildings were razed in the late 1990’s. Only some of the more recent metal buildings remain on the site.
Today, many of the descendants of Gregorio Villarreal,
Juan and Ponciano Longoria, Sabas Villarreal, Manuel Perez and the Garcias
still live on their family lands in La Encantada. In some families, the
trials and tribulations of life have resulted in large portions of the
lands being sold, and many family members, myself included, have had to
move away in order to provide for life’s necessities and make a decent
living. La Encantada may have lost its enchantment for some of us, but it
will live forever in our hearts.
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