The Webb County Heritage Foundation invites the public to come out and enjoy a new pop up historical exhibit on Laredo’s Election Riot of 1886. The exhibit is located in a downtown storefront facing San Agustín Plaza at the corner of Flores Ave. and Grant St. It is viewable 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
A press conference and ribbon-cutting for the exhibit will take place on Thursday, November 4 at 10 a.m. on San Agustín Plaza. The public is invited to attend and learn about “the greatest shoot-out west of the Mississippi.”
“The pop up exhibit, sponsored by grants from Humanities Texas, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Foundation, was designed to facilitate a safe, educational, and entertaining historical exhibit for the public from the safety of outdoors,” said Margarita Araiza, WCHF Executive Director. We give special thanks to UETA, owner of the property at the corner of Flores Ave. and Grant St., and Lawrence Friedman Real Estate Brokerage & Investments, who made it possible to present this fascinating chapter of Laredo’s history at this prominent location.”
An excerpt from the exhibit reads, “One of the most violent yet least known feuds of the American West was Laredo’s Election Riot of 1886. The riot, with over 100 combatants, left at least sixteen and perhaps as many as thirty citizens dead.
“Aligned along political family lines, two rival parties emerged in the 1880s: the Botas (Boots) led by Raymond Martin and C.M. MacDonnell, and the Guaraches (Sandals) led by Dario Gonzalez. Both parties vied for control of the city council. Political speeches, parades, excessive consumption of alcohol, and the shooting of firearms at anvils characterized the election campaigns of 1884 and 1886.”
The pop up exhibit is also intended to encourage Laredoans and out-of-town visitors to experience Laredo’s oldest historic neighborhoods around the beautiful San Agustín Plaza. The Heritage Foundation encourages everyone to walk or drive around and observe the oldest architecture in this community.
The Webb County Heritage Foundation also provides self-guided tours of the San Agustín Plaza and a Ghost Walk tour of the Plaza at no cost. Please call (956) 727-3480 for details or visit the Foundation’s Facebook page.
