Camargo is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the Mexican

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

. It is located on the US border, across from

Rio Grande City, Texas Rio Grande City is a city in and the county seat of Starr County, Texas, United States. The population was 15,317 at the time of the 2020 census. The city is west of McAllen. It is connected to Camargo, Tamaulipas, via the Rio Grande City� ...

. It has an official population of 14,933 inhabitants (2010 census). The municipal seat is Ciudad Camargo, with a population of 7,984. The municipality is connected to

, via the Rio Grande City-Camargo International Bridge.

History

The first settlement to be founded on the Lower Río Grande was that of Nuestra Señora de Santa Ana de Camargo. It was founded on March 5, 1749, with the dedication to Señora Santa Ana by captain Don

Blas María de la Garza Falcón Blas María de la Garza Falcón de Villarreal (1712 – 1767) was a Spanish settler of Tamaulipas and South Texas. Biography Capt. Blas María de la Garza Falcón de Villarreal, colonizer of South Texas and Tamaulipas and the first settle ...

at the eastern edge of the San Juan River near its confluence with the Río Grande. The foundation had 85 families – a total of 531 persons. Most of the settlers for this township came from Cerralvo, Cadereyta,

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

and surrounding townships. After establishing other towns in the interior of Mexico between

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

and the Gulf coast, José de Escandón arrived at Camargo on March 3, 1749. At the location called, "Paso del Azucar" on the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

, about two leagues southeast of the present site of Camargo, he met Captain Blas Maria de la Garza Falcón who already had been encamped there with forty other families and some soldiers. In the group led by Captain Blas Maria de la Garza Falcon were Miguel de la Garza Falcon, his brother, and Nicolas de los Santos Coy, father-in-law of Captain Falcon and ex-

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

of nearby Cerralvo Municipality in

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

. These settlers were men of wealth who felt a need to risk all for greater gain. The town had already been laid out on the eastern bank of the San Juan River, not far from the

, and temporary shelters made, jacales (straw huts). Father Fray Hierro, who had joined Escandon at Padilla and was a missionary from the college of Zacatecas, kept a diary which provides many interesting details concerning the establishment of the first settlements of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Fourteen settlements were established in a six months period. The settlers of this town were, as is evident from the captain's registry, generally Spaniards; they came in with some major and minor livestock: goats, sheep and mules. A great

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

in the year 1751 did some damage to the settlement, for which reason it was moved a little farther down the river to a higher site. An

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

which had been built at the original location, because of their not having trimmed the opening to the canal with stone and mortar, was destroyed by the

. Following Texan independence and the commencement of the MexicanAmerican War, Camargo was occupied by the US

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

under the command of General Zachary Taylor on 14 July 1846. This river port served as a jumping off point for the invasion on Monterrey and

Saltillo Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and high ...

. The US Army was transported via steamboats from the mouth of the river area and Matamoros. Disease plagued the troops and it is said that thousand of US soldiers were buried here in unmarked graves. On January 22, 2021, nineteen burned bodies were found in Camargo Municipality, likely victims of drug violence. As of February 3, two of the deceased were identified as Mexicans and two as Guatemalans, and twelve police officers were arrested. Sixteen of the bodies were identified as Guatemalan migrants and were returned to their country of origin in February

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Geography

Towns and villages

The largest localities (cities, towns, and villages) are:2010 census tables: INEGI

Adjacent municipalities and counties

* Gustavo Díaz Ordaz Municipality - southeast * General Bravo Municipality,

- southeast * Doctor Coss Municipality, Nuevo León - southwest * Miguel Alemán Municipality - northwest *

Starr County, Texas Starr County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 65,920. Its county seat is Rio Grande City. The county was created in 1848. It is named for James Harper Starr, who served as secretary of the tre ...

- north

References

{{Tamaulipas Municipalities of Tamaulipas Lower Rio Grande Valley Tamaulipas populated places on the Rio Grande