it was founded by 34 men who would settle on the western side of the rio grande on june 15, 1850 as nueva villa de herrera, due to the establishment of fort duncan on the us side. in 1880 coal reserves would be discovered and then a railway would be built between 1881 and 83 and on december 1, 1888 it would be elevated to the rank of city and would be renamed ciudad porfirio díaz although after the fall of díaz in 1911 it would be renamed to his name original.