Los Ojuelos (2010)

For thousands of years, Los Ojuelos (The Springs) were a source of the precious south Texas commodity of water. Eugenio Gutiérrez received a Spanish land grant in 1810 that included the springs, but attempts to settle here by Eugenio and his son, Isidro, were blocked by conflicts with Comanches. In 1850, a Texas Ranger outpost was set up under the leadership of John Salmon “Rip” Ford to regulate the trade road between Laredo and the port at Corpus Christi, and the Rangers’ presence enabled José María Guerra, a grandson of Eugenio Gutiérrez, to permanently settle at the site. During the 1860s, Guerra built several caliche structures, including a chapel and a small irrigation system, now among the best preserved Spanish-Mexican ranch architecture in the region. The springs drew travelers to the village from the 1870s until the 1940s. The indigenous peyote cactus, which had widespread ritualistic and medicinal use among American Indians, was the most lucrative crop for the settlers. In the 1920s, a Texas Ranger outpost near Los Ojuelos dealt with tequileros (liquor smugglers) crossing from Mexico. The discovery of oil greatly reduced the peyote trade due to overharvesting and clearing of peyote fields for drilling. Native Americans still purchase from licensed dealers every February peyote harvested from area ranches. The springs dried up following the development of Mirando City and oil and gas drilling, and the site was virtually abandoned in the 1930s. Oil and gas drilling continues to be an important economic activity in the Los Ojuelos area. (2010)

Los Ojuelos is a historical marker in Mirando City vicinity, Webb County, dedicated in 2010. It is one of 16 historical markers documented in Webb County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 55 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 27.4031, -98.9964 near Mirando City vicinity. The nearest cataloged historic site is Dionicio Guerra Family Cemetery (cemetery), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Los Ojuelos, Las Magnolias, and Oilton-Laurel.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507016461. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.