La Joya, Texas

Everything La Joya is known for

1 song mention this city 0 artists from here

Music in La Joya

Songs About La Joya

leavin' texas
jerry jeff walker
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Artists From La Joya

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Rivers & Roads in Song near La Joya

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near La Joya.

Rio Grande / Río Bravo 163 songs Rio Grande / Río Bravo 250 songs

History of La Joya

The School District Scandals RoadyGoat

One of the biggest stories in modern La Joya revolves around its school district. The La Joya Independent School District isn't just a set of schools; it's a political and economic giant covering 226 square miles. This concentration of power and money has, unfortunately, led to a history of corruption. Over the last two decades, the district has been rocked by a series of FBI investigations and federal indictments. School board trustees and administrators have been convicted of taking bribes and kickbacks in exchange for lucrative contracts for construction, insurance, and even graduation rings. These scandals have cost taxpayers millions and shaken the community's trust, creating a reputation that often overshadows the hard work of its teachers and students. It's a sobering story about the challenges of managing rapid growth and public funds in a small Texas town.

RoadyGoat →

Taming the Rio Grande RoadyGoat

The existence of La Joya as a farming community is a triumph of early 20th-century engineering. The challenge was immense: how do you get water from the Rio Grande, which sits at a lower elevation than the surrounding farmland, to the fields? The solution was a massive infrastructure project. Companies like the United Irrigation Company built powerful pumping stations right on the riverbank. These stations, initially powered by steam engines, lifted millions of gallons of water up into a network of primary canals. From there, gravity took over. The water flowed through miles of smaller and smaller ditches, or 'laterals,' reaching individual farm plots. As you drive through this area, you might cross over concrete-lined canals or smaller ditches. These aren't just drainage; they are the remnants of the circulatory system that transformed this dry brushland into a 'jewel' of agriculture, a testament to the brute-force engineering that made the 'Magic Valley' possible.

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La Joya, TX RoadyGoat

The name 'La Joya', meaning 'the jewel', was inspired by a small natural lake west of the city. Early settlers observed that the lake shined in the sun like a jewel, giving the city its beautiful and fitting name.

Nellie Leo Schunior School

1890

This school's roots lie in the former town of Havana (2 mi. S), where between 1890 and 1944 area children, most of whom lived on nearby ranches, attended classes in a one-room schoolhouse. Nellie Leo Schunior (1878-1920), who later became the first superintendent of Chapin (now Edinburg) schools, taught in Havana from 1913 until 1916. Several years after her death, persistent flooding of the Rio Grande caused Havana residents to relocate their town to this area. They renamed the town La Joya, and built a new school in 1926 which they named in Schunior's honor. (1992)

Historical Marker →

Los Ejidos de Reynosa Vieja

1749

In 1749, Col. Jose de Escandon founded Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe de Reynosa. Surveyors marked off over 10,000 acres for Los Ejidos, the town commons, for settlers to farm and ranch. The remaining land bordered each side of the Rio Grande and each of the 80 porciones (allotments) had river access. Besides ranching, Los Ejidos was important commercially as a transfer site for the area's salt trade. The commons mission, San Joaquin del Monte, played a prominent role in Christianizing native tribes and as a school and church for settlers. In 1802, the villa moved due to flooding. Old Reynosa (now Reynosa Diaz) continues to exist, with La Joya, Abram-Perezville and Penitas now existing on the former ejidos. (2010)

Historical Marker →

Hidalgo County's First Oil Well

1934

John M. Lawrence No. 1 oil well was brought in September 18, 1934, near this site by veteran driller Otto C. Woods. Well flowed 1,000 or more barrels a day. At first the oil formed a lake beside the well. County has produced 20 million barrels of oil. (1968)

Historical Marker → · 3.2 mi away

Los Ebanos, TX

1862

Los Ebanos is off Farm Road 886 half a mile north of the Rio Grande in extreme southwestern Hidalgo County. The first recorded Spanish visit into the area was in the 1740s, when an ancient ford south of the area was crossed by explorers and colonists led by José de Escandón . Los Ebanos was reportedly established by early Mexican settlers, who named the community for the abundance of ebony trees in the area. The ford was a popular crossing during the Mexican War in 1846. During the Civil War , on December 28, 1862, armed Mexican thieves crossed into Los Ebanos and attacked a Confederate wagontrain; three teamsters died, and all the goods were lost. Texas Rangers crossed the ford in 1874 to pursue cattle rustlers. Los Ebanos was the site of an engagement between United States customs officers and cattle thieves in November 1875. The Los Ebanos post office was opened in 1910, and in 1913 Dr. Alfred J. J. Austin established a ranch, brickyard, gravel pit, and pharmacy there. The community's population was estimated at 200 in 1920, and by 1936 Los Ebanos comprised a school, several dwellings, two churches, and seven businesses. During the 1920s and 1930s Los Ebanos was again popular as a crossing for smugglers, who brought alcohol from Mexico. Its population remained at 200 in 1946, when one business was reported in the community. A ferry connecting Los Ebanos to Ciudad Díaz Ordaz, Tamaulipas, was established in 1950. At that time it was the only government-licensed hand-pulled ferry on a United States international boundary. An inspection station was also established then. In 1964 Los Ebanos had a population of 100 and four businesses. A colonia formed in Los Ebanos during the late 1960s and early 1970s had 150 dwellings and an estimated population of 825 in 1976; by 1986 it had decreased to ten dwellings and a population of forty-five. In 1990 the population of Los Ebanos was estimated at 100. The population reached 403 by 2000.

Tsha Handbook → · 4.9 mi away

Casa Blanca, TX

1754

Casa Blanca was two miles southwest of Sandia and twenty miles northeast of Alice in extreme northeastern Jim Wells County. The Casa Blanca or White House was part of a settlement established at the site around 1754 by Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera y Gallardo , captain of Laredo, who was ordered to find a suitable site for a new settlement. After surveying the country Sánchez selected a site on the banks of Peñitas Creek. A settlement was established there, and the White House was constructed of caliche blocks known as ciares . The house was built in the shape of a square with a courtyard in the center; the well in the courtyard also served as a the end of a tunnel out of the building. Toward the end of the eighteenth century the house was used as a mission. The Spanish crown granted the land to Juan José de la Garza Montemayor and his sons Agustín, Perfecto, and Manuel on April 2, 1807. They used the Casa Blanca as a ranchhouse. According to records the land was occupied by their heirs until 1852. However, local legend has it that the Montemayor family was driven away by a band of outlaws, who in turn were driven out by hostile Indians. Subsequently various families occupied the house and the surrounding area, and a post office operated at the site from 1860 to 1866. The area continued to be inhabited by several families, and in 1893 the post office was reactivated. In 1896 the land was purchased by John L. Wade. Because Casa Blanca was already established as a stopping point Wade established Wade City adjacent to it, platting streets and setting aside land for stores and churches. In 1896 Casa Blanca-Wade City had a combined estimated population of 150, a Methodist church, a general store, a gin, and a lumberyard. Wade City did not prosper, however, and by 1914 its population had decreased to thirty-five. The post office ceased operation in 1922. Around 1936 Wade's heirs petitioned for the site of Wade City to revert to them, arguing that the town never developed and showed no promise of doing so and that the land would be more valuable as ranchland. The petition was granted, and Wade City reverted to pastureland; Casa Blanca continued to be an independent community, but by 1945 only ruins remained.

Tsha Handbook → · 8.7 mi away

Things to Do in La Joya

spooky 15.7 mi away
La Lechuza

In the Rio Grande Valley a giant owl-witch called La Lechuza hunts at night. She is said to be the ghost of a mother whose children were killed by a drunk…
quirky 17.3 mi away
World's Largest Killer Bee

A 2000-pound steel-and-fiberglass killer bee statue stands outside Hidalgo City Hall. It commemorates the first U.S. arrival of Africanized honey bees near the…

Everything Near La Joya

207 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the nearest 200 are listed here — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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