Laredo Was the Founding Site of the Republic of the Rio Grande

In January 1840, Mexican Federalist leaders met in Laredo and declared a new republic. The convention was held here on January 17, 1840. The movement was against the central power of Santa Anna. The new republic claimed land across northern Mexico and into what is now South Texas. Laredo served as the official seat of government. Leaders operated from Guerrero, Tamaulipas for a time because a printing press was available there. It did not last long. By November 1840, its military leader surrendered and the republic was over.

A museum in Laredo's historic district marks this story. The Republic of the Rio Grande Museum sits in a colonial-era building near the San Agustín Plaza. It tells how this brief political experiment started, what it tried to do, and why it fell apart — with Laredo at the center of all of it.