A Brief History of Laredo, TX

Villa de San Agustin de Laredo was founded in 1755 by Don Tomas Sanchez while the area was part of a region called Nuevo Santander in the Spanish colony of New Spain. Villa de San Agustin de Laredo got its name from Laredo, Cantabria, Spain and in honor of Saint Agustine of Hippo. In 1840, Laredo was the capital of the independent Republic of the Rio Grande, set up in rebellion to the dictatorship of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and brought back into Mexico by military force.