Rio Grand City, Texas [Cover]
Name/Title
Rio Grand City, Texas [Cover]Description
Early 1880s cover addressed to “Col J L Haynes / U.S. Customs House / Brownsville / Texas.” Postmarked in “RIO GRAND CITY / NOV 5 / TEX."Context
At the time of this cover, Rio Grande City had an active passenger and cargo ship trade with New Orleans and flourished as a cattle center. Frequent encroachments from Mexico forced the community to rely often on the Texas Rangers and the United States Army for protection. The town had a population of 900, a doctor, two lawyers, a saloon, three carpenters, three grocers, nine general stores, a wagon maker, a druggist, two blacksmiths, two churches, a district school, a tailor, a furniture maker, a cornmill, and a hotel. In 1895 the name of the post office changed from Rio Grande City to Riogrande, The recipient, John Leal Haynes, a military and political leader, was the collector of customs at Brownsville at the time of this cover.Category
The Handbook of Texas