Main SiteLaredito and the Tale of Two San Antonios
Beginning in the late 1600s, Spanish explorers—and later settlers—traveled north from Mexico into Texas on the Camino Real, a road that crossed the Rio Grande near today’s Eagle Pass.
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Beginning in the late 1600s, Spanish explorers—and later settlers—traveled north from Mexico into Texas on the Camino Real, a road that crossed the Rio Grande near today’s Eagle Pass. This route became essential to trade between Mexico and the presidios, missions, and settlements established north of the river.
By the early 1800s, commerce between San Antonio and central Mexico had increased, and a shorter route was developed. Establishment of this new route encouraged settlement and business west of San Pedro Creek. Freighters gathered in Military Plaza and along the creek to load and unload their wagons with goods of all types. As a result, the street became known as Laredo and the adjoining neighborhood as Laredito.
It would become the predominantly Mexican American barrio, and San Pedro Creek became a dividing line between the Mexicano neighborhoods to the west and the white neighborhoods to the east.
Courtesy: University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections. Heavy mule-drawn wagons transported goods between Texas and Mexico. Freighters assembled their loads and camped in neighborhoods west of the creek.
Courtesy: University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections. As trade with Mexico increased, Laredo Street became the town’s main thoroughfare leading south toward the Rio Grande. The street was lined with houses of logs, mud, adobe, and stone.
Henderson Yoakum, History of Texas from its First Settlement in 1685 to its Annexation to the United States in 1846 (New York: Redfield, 1856) The road crossed San Pedro Creek at Military Plaza and followed the west bank until it turned southwest toward the town of Laredo on the Rio Grande.
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A partir de finales del siglo XVII, los exploradores españoles y los colonos posteriores viajaron hacia el norte desde México hasta Texas por el Camino Real, una carretera que cruzaba el Río Grande cerca del actual Eagle Pass. Esta ruta se volvió esencial para el comercio entre México y los presidios, misiones y asentamientos establecidos al norte del río.
A principios del siglo XIX, el comercio entre San Antonio y el centro de México había aumentado y se desarrolló una ruta más corta. El establecimiento de esta nueva ruta alentó el asentamiento y los negocios al oeste de San Pedro Creek. Los cargueros se reunieron en la Plaza Militar y a lo largo del arroyo para cargar y descargar sus vagones con mercancías de todo tipo. Como resultado, la calle se conoció como Laredo y el vecindario contiguo como Laredito.
Se convertiría en el vecindario predominantemente méxico-americano, y San Pedro Creek se convirtió en una línea divisoria entre los vecindarios mexicanos al oeste y los vecindarios blancos al este.
Courtesy: University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections. Pesados carros tirados por mulas transportaban mercancías entre Texas y México. Los cargueros reunían sus cargas y acampaban en los vecindarios al oeste del arroyo.
Courtesy: University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections. A medida que aumentó el comercio con México, la calle Laredo se convirtió en la vía principal de la ciudad que conduce al sur hacia el Río Grande. La calle estaba llena de viviendas de troncos, barro, adobe y piedra.
Henderson Yoakum, History of Texas from its First Settlement in 1685 to its Annexation to the United States in 1846 (New York: Redfield, 1856) El camino cruzó San Pedro Creek en Military Plaza y siguió la orilla oeste hasta girar al suroeste hacia la ciudad de Laredo en el Río Grande.
