A look at a 1938 program for the dedication ceremonies for a monument to the settlers of Laredo offers up a tranquil vignette of local history before the outbreak of World War II.
The red granite monument was given to the City of Laredo by the State as part of the work of the Commission of Control for the Texas Centennial Celebration of the Republic of Texas. The Villa de San Agustín was among the historic sites in Texas designated for such a monument.
According to the October 16, 1938 program, which accompanies this brief missive, Webb County District Attorney Robert Lee Bobbit presented the stone tribute to the City, which was represented by Joe C. Martin Jr., a descendant of Laredo’s founder, Don Tomás Sanchez.
Misses Olga Farias, Marceline Esther Sanchez, and Nieves Mogas — all descendants of Tomás Sanchez — unveiled the monument in a ceremony that began with the Laredo High School’s rendition of “America” and an invocation by Rev. R. Bruce Brannon of the Presbyterian Church.
Edward R. Leyendecker introduced historian Seb. S. Wilcox, court reporter for the 49th District Court, who spoke of the City’s founder and the early history of La Villa de San Agustín.
Wilcox was followed by Mrs. Arthur Claude Hamilton, a member of the Webb County Advisory Committee for Texas Centennial Monuments. She spoke of “Five Monuments of Historic Import Erected in Webb County.”
The ceremony on this late Sunday afternoon, which included the assistance of the Woodmen of the World Drum and Bugle Corps, closed with the benediction of Rev. Father Dan Lansing, American Legion Commander and Dean of the Catholic Churches of Laredo.
Sponsors of the event included Wilcox; Mayor Albert Martin; Frank Y. Hill of the Laredo Bar Association; Webb County Judge Justo Penn; Sheriff Joe C. Martin; Mrs. Hamilton; Rev. Andres de Anta, OMI of San Agustín Church; Rev. Brannon; Rev. Lansing; J.V. Croft of the Knights of Columbus; Francisco J. Flores of LULAC; Judge Manuel Cruz of Woodmen of the World; Matias de Llano of the Laredo Chamber of Commerce; George Wright of the Junior Chamber of Commerce; Charles Deutz of Rotary Club; Dr. Valentin Puig of the Lions Club; W.B. Heaner of the Elks Cub; James J. Richter of the Boy Scouts; school Supt. W.P. Galligan; Laredo High School principal W.J. Lemoine; band director Elmo Low; A.J. Notzon; Rev. Father Florencio Andres, OMI; Edward R. Leyendecker; Mrs. A.E. McCullouch of the Daughters of the American Revolution; Mrs. Mary Rumsey of the Catholic Daughters of America; Miss Aminta Gonzalez of the Pan American Student Forum; and Mrs. Locke Purnell of the Pan American Round Table.
The monument inscription:
(East side) Original site of Villa de Laredo, founded by Don Tomás Sanchez, May 15, 1755, by order of José Escandon, colonizer of Nuevo Santander.
(West side) Chartered by the King of Spain and organized as Villa de San Agustín de Laredo in 1767. Incorporated in the State of Tamaulipas, Mexico in 1821. Concentration point for the Mexican Army under General Santa Ana during the Texas Revolution. Capital of the Republic of the Río Grande in 1839. Temporarily occupied for Texas by General Alexander Somervell in December 1842. Occupied November 8, 1846, for the United States by Captain Mirabeau B. Lamar under General Zachary Taylor. Incorporated as the City of Laredo by the Texas Legislature in 1848. Headquarters of Colonel Santos Benavides during the Confederacy. Ever after loyal to Old Glory.
Very cool! Father Lansing was among the original members of the Laredo Housing Authority.