CAMARGO, NUEVO SANTANDER CAMARGO, NUEVO SANTANDER. Camargo,
Nuevo Santander (now Tamaulipas), was founded on the south side
of the San Juan River on March 5, 1749, by José de Escandón,
governor of Nuevo Santander. At this time, Blas María de la
Garza Falcón, a prominent rancher, and forty families from Nuevo
León already occupied the general area of the San Juan valley.
Camargo was one of five such towns founded by Escandón and local
cattle owners between 1749 and 1753 in the Trans-Nueces area.
Settlers who went to Camargo in 1749 brought 13,000 sheep to
begin ranching; the following year they had increased their
stock to 30,000 and their population to 700, thus becoming the
largest of Escandón's settlements. In addition to the Spaniards,
the town included 241 Indians from the groups of Tareguanos,
Pajaritos, Paysanos, Venados, Cueroquemados, and Guajolotes
living inside the walls of San Agustín de Laredo Mission, south
of the town. Prominent ranchers, including Manuel and Joseph
Hinojosa, Nicolás de los Sant