Webb County Heritage Foundation
250th Anniversary
The city of Laredo will mark the 250th anniversary of its founding with a year-long celebration in 2005. Civic organizations, private societies, schools, businesses, and neighboring communities have joined forces to plan a calendar of events commemorating the city's founding.
Laredo was founded on May 15, 1755 when Captain Tomás Sánchez, with several families, settled 15 leagues of land near an Indian ford on the RGrande by permission of governor José de Escandón, a Spaniard responsible for conquering the northern frontier of New Spain. In 1767, New Spain officially designated the settlement as a villa and christened it San Agustín de Laredo, after a town in Escandón's native Santander, Spain. It is considered one of the oldest cities in Texas.
In 2003, the city, along with the Webb County Heritage Foundation formed a Celebration Commission to spearhead planning of this historical anniversary.