Paula Losoya Taylor (also Paula Losoya de Rivers,? - July 17, 1902) was one of the founders of San Felipe Del Rio (later, Del Rio) in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Her '' hacienda'' in Del Rio became a major employer in the region, and an important gathering spot for worship, discussion, and more. Taylor donated land to create a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

, a fort, and schools in Del Rio.

Biography

Taylor was born in Guerrero, Tamaulipas. Taylor and her sister, Refugio Losoya de Rivera first came to the Del Rio region known as Las Zapas in 1862, moving from

Rio Grande City Rio Grande City is a city in and the county seat of Starr County, Texas. The population was 14,411 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is west of McAllen. The city also holds the March record high for the United States at . The city is c ...

with their husbands. Also in 1862, Taylor built the first ''hacienda'' in Del Rio. The remains of the hacienda are known locally as the Rivers Home. Taylor and her sister began to cultivate the land of their ''hacienda'' right away, hiring workers from Las Zapas. Their hiring of Mexican workers increased migration from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

into the San Felipe area of Del Rio. Taylor was also involved, along with her husband, with creating the first''

acequia An acequia () or séquia () is a community-operated watercourse used in Spain and former Spanish colonies in the Americas for irrigation. Particularly in Spain, the Andes, northern Mexico, and the modern-day American Southwest particularly n ...

s'' in the area, the first of which was called Acequia Madre. On April 4, 1876, her husband died and left the property and possessions to Taylor. Some sources indicate that she married another man, who may have been known as Charles Rivers or Rivera, in December 1876. On the estate, the two sisters and Taylor's family continued to work and grow. She helped raise some of her relative's children. The two sisters also arranged to have Catholic priests from Eagle Pass say mass for the estate, and the many of the residents of San Feilipe Del Rio would attend. Residents attended

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

at her ''hacienda'' until 1895, when the church established Sacred Heart in Del Rio. The ''hacienda'' also included a sugarcane mill,

flour mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separated ...

, a gin, and a Mexican-style candy factory. Mexican people in the area had no place to bury their dead, so in 1884, Taylor donated four acres of her land to create a cemetery for Mexican people. The land she donated was marked by a cross at the top of the hill and already had five burials. This area later became Cemeterio Viejo Loma de la Cruz. Taylor also donated 60 acres of her land to build a fort for defense of the town and more land to build area schools. Taylor died on July 17, 1902. In 1976, ''La Hacienda'' was published, which described the history of Del Rio and featured Taylor's estate. Taylor is depicted in a

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

at Moore Park in Del Rio. A Texas Historical Marker is located at her hacienda and was erected in 1982.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Paula Losoya People from Del Rio, Texas People from Tamaulipas American people of Mexican descent Ranchers