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The
Schunior High School (detail)
Photo by John Troesser, 2002 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
"The Jewel" is said to be named after a small natural lake once nearby.
The town sits on land that was once known as Los Ejidos de Reynosa
Viejo.
The settlers of Reynosa Viejo shared grazing lands here called ejiidos
in Spanish. Settlement began in 1749, when José de Escandón brought
the first settlers here. Even today, many residents are descendants
of the original colonists. Francisco de la Garza, had founded a community
called Tabasco, on this side of the Rio Grande in the early
1900s. It prospered briefly after being abandoned (for higher ground)
because of severe flooding in 1908 and 1909.
In 1926 a land developer from Houston named J. H. Smith arrivied and
coaxed the locals into incorporating - which they did that same year
- officially naming it after the lake west of town. In 1930 the town
was still in its infantcy, with just two businesses and a few houses.
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The
La Joya Post Office
Photo by John Troesser, 2002 |
Development
was curtailed due to the Great Depression and by 1940 the town only
had 175 people living there. Nothing much happened in La Joya until
the mid 1950s when a man with the redundant name of Leo J. Leo organized
the townspeople to hold an election. In 1965 Leo Leo became the town's
first mayor.
By 1972 the town had over 1,200 people which doubled over the next
ten years. |
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