Porcion 74, located in Starr County, was originally granted to Pedro Lugo in 1767 by the king of Spain. On December 26, 1787, Pedro Jose Perez purchased Porcion 74, which consisted of 6,740 acres, from Pedro Lugo. According to Camargo, Mexico, census records, Pedro Jose Perez married Manuela de la Garza on January 8, 1769. The Perez family assisted in establishing and settling La Villa de Santa Ana with Col. Jose de Escandon in Camargo on March 5, 1749. The Perez family named the ranch “San Jose de la Mulada.” A La Mulada census on September 26, 1870, indicated there were 31 inhabitants at the ranch. Ledgers kept on the ranch documented the employees’ duties and salaries, as well as other items. In 1968, Josefa Hinojosa Perez and Toraldo C. Perez purchased acreage at La Mulada from Perez family heirs. La Mulada Ranch was included in Los Tejanos Exhibition at the Lyndon B. Johnson Library and Museum as one of the oldest ranches in Texas. On display from October 12, 1997, through September 8, 1998, the exhibit, titled “Los Tejanos: Sus Huellas en la Tierra,” investigated the contributions made by Texans of Mexican ancestry to the state’s history. The life of Casimiro Perez-Alvarez, great-great-grandson of Pedro Jose Perez and an inheritor of La Mulada Ranch, was also on exhibit at the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg. Apart from ranching on the property, Casimiro was a well-known figure in Starr County who was a deputy U.S. Marshal from Brownsville to Laredo on horseback between 1902 and 1913, and again in 1921. The exhibit included pictures, a saddle, rifle, revolver, and documents from the Perez family, as well as correspondence related to the ranch’s cattle and trading. (2014)
San Jose de la Mulada Ranch
The roadside stories worth pulling over for.
San Jose de la Mulada Ranch is a historical marker in El Sauz, Starr County, dedicated in 2014. It is one of 28 historical markers documented in Starr County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 134 historic sites cataloged across the county.
The site sits at 26.5044, -98.8765 near El Sauz. The nearest cataloged historic site is Gerardo Guerra Gravesite (cemetery), about 0.8 miles away. Others within a short drive include Unknown, Natividad Villarreal, and Celedino Garcia.
This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507018151. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
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