About the Land
"The history of Mission is deeply rooted in the soil of Spanish Texas" - Images of America: Mission
Porciones
Between 1748 and 1753, Spanish settlers recruited by Gov. Jose de Escandon occupied the land along the Rio Grande. The settlers raised livestock, grew vegetables, and built small towns, but they did not receive formal grants of land ownership from the Spanish government until 1767. The settler's claims were divided into porciones (portions), blocks of land measuring nine-thirteenths of a mile wide and extending from 11 - 16 miles inland. Each porcion began at the river to ensure access to water. The land continued to be dedicated to ranching through the 1800s due to limited water supply.
Rene Guillard
Rene Guillard was a devout catholic and a French merchant from Reynosa. He first purchased porcion 57 from the widow of John (Juan) Davis Bradburn in 1845. He then purchased porcion 55 in 1851. Porcion 55 had been previously owned by Jose Antonio Cantu, who had named the porcion "La Lomita Ranch". The two ranches totaled more than 10,000 acres and employed numerous workers and their families.
Oblates of Mary Immaculate
The first priests known as the Oblates of Mary Immaculate arrived in 1849 and began their missionary work in Brownsville. In 1852, they expanded their ministry to the faithful living on ranches and farms along the Rio Grande, and by 1867, their territory had reached Roma, about 100 miles upriver from Brownsville. These priests who labored in the harsh environment of the brush country, were known as the Cavalry of Christ.
Rene Guillard's ranch at La Lomita, about halfway between Roma and Brownsville, became a place for the missionaries to visit with each other and to rest during their travels. Guillard built a small chapel where the Oblate Fathers offered religious services to ranch workers and their families.
La Lomita Ranch
In his 1861 will, Rene Guillard bequeathed his two ranch properties (La Lomita and El Nogalito) to Fr. Pierre F. Parisot and Fr. Pierre Y. Keralum. The property was then formally transferred to the Missionary Society of Oblate Fathers of Texas in 1877
In 1883, the Oblate Fathers purchased the middle section (porcion 56) and combined all three properties (porcion 55, 56, and 57). Altogether the entire land grant of the three porciones, called La Lomita, occupied 2 miles along the river and 15 miles inland.
In 1899, the Oblate Fathers established a mission district to serve the 65 ranches of Hidalgo County, with headquarters at La Lomita Ranch. Although there had been a small chapel on Rene Guillard's ranch property, the one built in 1899 (just inside porcion 56) is the structure known today.
Conway and Hoit
By 1906, when James W. Hoit and John J. Conway arrived in the Rio Grande Valley, the Oblate Fathers were having difficulty making enough income to offset expenses. They were willing to sell some of their land.
In 1907, Conway and Hoit purchased 17,000 acres of La Lomita. The Oblates retained about 400 acres, some along the Rio Grande, including the chapel. Conway and Hoit added another 10,000 acres to their development for a total of 27,000 acres.
In 1908, the Missouri Pacific Railroad established a railway station near the center of the new development, 4 miles north of the chapel at La Lomita. That same year, the City of Mission, Texas was founded; Mrs. Rose Voltz, who lived in the Madero area, suggested that the new town be named Mission after the La Lomita Mission. Since 1908, the City of Mission has grown from a railroad stop to a thriving city with a population approaching 70,000.
"Mr. John Conway, Mr. J.W. Hoit, Mr. Chas. Volz and myself got together in our yard one day to decide upon a name for the new town. The first name suggested was that of Conway, but there was already a Conway in Texas. I suggested Mission City as an appropriate name since the townsite was near the old Mission Chapel. But after discovering that there was already a Mission City in Texas, we decided to call the town Mission instead." - Mrs. Rose Volz