La Lomita Chapel
Mission, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Lands for La Lomita ("The Little Hill") Mission came from the 1767 Spanish grant of Joseph A. Cántu, and were donated in 1861. Used as farms and ranches, the lands supported the priests and their charities. The original chapel, built in 1865 at a campsite on Brownsville-Roma trail has been rebuilt or restored two or more times. It was relocated at this present site in 1899. The city of Mission (5 mi. N), Texas, was named for this significant landmark. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1964.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The lands of La Lomita — 'The Little Hill' — trace to a 1767 Spanish grant and were donated for church use in 1861, their farms and ranches supporting the priests and their charities. The original chapel rose in 1865 at a campsite on the Brownsville-Roma trail, was rebuilt over the years, and moved to this site in 1899. The nearby city of Mission took its name from this Rio Grande Valley landmark.
Why it matters
La Lomita preserves the deep Spanish and Mexican Catholic roots of the lower Rio Grande, where mission lands and traveling priests shaped settlement long before the region became part of the United States.
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Related people
- · Joseph A. Cántu
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
La Lomita Farms
Mission, TX
In 1849 French priests of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate fanned out from Brownsville to minister across the lower Rio Grande Valley, and a Reynosa merchant named Rene Guyard gave them part of his Rancho La Lomita for a mission to serve his ranch hands. The first chapel rose here in 1865, and after Guyard's 1871 death the Oblates inherited the land, farming it to fund further missionary work. Though the farm proved a financial drain and most of it was sold in 1909, the little La Lomita Chapel gave its name to the nearby town of Mission.
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Laurel Hill Cemetery
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