Title: Falcon Reservoir-Expedition and Settlement
Headings: Falcon Reservoir
Falcon Reservoir
Expedition and Settlement
Ranchos along the River
Cattle-raising in the Eighteenth Century

Content: Expedition leader Jose de Escandón handpicked the locations for the new colonies, consisting of civilian cattle ranching haciendas (headquarters), villas (towns), and lugars (settlements). The colonists were drawn from neighboring provinces and were exempt from taxes for the first 10 years. Four villas were founded along the Lower Rio Grande, including Camargo (founded March 5, 1749) Reynosa (founded March 14, 1749), and Revilla (founded October 10, 1750) located on the south side of the Rio Grande, and Laredo on the north side of the river (founded May 15, 1755). In addition, on August 22, 1750, Escandón granted José Vázquez Borrego permission to found Nuestra Señora de los Dolores on the north side of the Rio Grande, which soon became more of a small hacienda rather than a villa. One of the settlements established by the expedition was called Mier, founded on March 6, 1753 near the confluence of the Rio Grande and the Rio Alamo; it is now on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. Ranchos along the River
Mier was founded to be the central settlement for a series of ranchos that occupied the land surrounding the town on both sides of the river. Thirty-eight families were brought up from Cerralvo, Nuevo Leon, and joined 19 families already in the area. Each settling family was awarded a porcion, or land grant, that consisted of a narrow strip of land containing from 0.5 to 1 mile of riverfront property and extending about 14 to 15 miles away from the Rio Grande. Families were also given a small plot in town to build a house, if they wished.