Campacuas Cemetery
Mercedes, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Antonio Cano (1811-1877) established Rancho Guadalupe at Campacuas in 1836. That year, he wed Mauricia Fernandez (1814-1906) in Reynosa, Mexico. The couple had five children. The original Cano Ranch, enlarged through the years, was on part of the Llano Grande royal land grant, and it fronted the Rio Grande and extended north about 15 miles. Cano established ranch headquarters on the wooded shores of Campacuas Lake, a resaca originally known as Tampacuas Lake for the Tampacuaze Indians who frequented the area. He donated land along the lake for a schoolhouse and chapel, as well as a cemetery. Antonio Montelongo (d. 1836) was the first to be buried here, but the oldest marked grave is that of Antonio Cano. It features a bóveda, or above-ground crypt. Other gravestones range from handmade markers to tall monuments. Many wooden markers washed away in early 20th century floods. Much of the Cano land was sold for commercial farms and part of Mercedes, but the cemetery remains. Family and an association maintain the burial ground and conduct annual homecomings each November to clean and decorate the graves. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2003
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1836 Antonio Cano established Rancho Guadalupe at Campacuas on part of the Llano Grande royal land grant, fronting the Rio Grande and stretching some fifteen miles north. He set his ranch headquarters on the wooded shore of Campacuas Lake — a resaca named for the Tampacuaze Indians who frequented it — and donated land for a school, chapel, and this cemetery. His own grave, an above-ground bóveda crypt, is the oldest marked burial among the handmade markers and tall monuments that remain.
Why it matters
The burial ground is a living monument to the Tejano ranching families whose land grants and settlements shaped the Lower Rio Grande Valley long before commercial farming arrived.
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Related people
- · Antonio Cano
- · Mauricia Fernandez
Themes & tags
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