Vela Building
Hidalgo, Hidalgo County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1904 Crisoforo Vela and his wife, Florinda (de la Vega Balli), moved to Hidalgo from Santo Domingo Ranch in Starr County. Six years later Vela acquired the ferry and rowboat service that connected Hidalgo with Reynosa, Mexico. This was an important commercial route in the early development of the Rio Grande Valley. Vela and two of his ten children operated the river crossing until 1926, when the first bridge connecting Reynosa and Hidalgo was built. Vela lived in this house, which has remained in the family for more than 50 years, until his death in 1932. (1984)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1904 Crisoforo Vela and his wife Florinda moved to Hidalgo, and within a few years he took over the ferry and rowboat service linking the town with Reynosa, Mexico. That river crossing was a key commercial artery in the early growth of the Rio Grande Valley, and the Vela family ran it until the first Reynosa–Hidalgo bridge opened in 1926. Vela lived in this house until his death in 1932, and it has remained in his family for generations.
Why it matters
The Vela crossing embodies the deeply intertwined economies of the U.S.–Mexico borderlands, where family-run ferries stitched two nations together long before international bridges made the connection permanent.
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Related people
- · Crisoforo Vela
- · Florinda de la Vega Balli
Themes & tags
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