Los Indios

Los Indios is off U.S. Highway 281 eight miles south of Harlingen in southwestern Cameron County. The area was first settled in the late eighteenth century by Eugenio and Bartolomé Fernández, who received it from Spain in 1789 as part of the Concepción de Carricitos land grant. It is generally believed that Los Indios was named for a ranch established by the Spanish in the eighteenth century. The area was part of the disputed territory that led to the Mexican War and later was part of the area through which cotton and other goods were smuggled into Mexico during the Civil War. In 1913 a shipping point was established at Los Indios by the San Benito and Rio Grande Valley Railway. A local post office was established in September of that year, and by 1914 a general store was also in operation. The population of Los Indios was reported at twenty-five in 1925 and increased to 150 by 1927. In 1940 the community had a post office, four businesses, a school, a church, and a population of 150. From 1942 through 1964 its population was reported as 100; during this time the number of businesses dropped from five to three. In 1949 the railroad closed operations in the area. In 1955 the Los Indios Independent School District was consolidated with the San Benito Independent School District. The population of Los Indios remained at about 200 from 1968 to 1990, during which time the town had between one and four businesses. Attached to Los Indios is a colonia, which in 1976 had 136 dwellings and an estimated population of 726. By 1986 the colonia had declined to eighty homes and a population of about 360. In 2000 the population had increased to 1,149.