National Register Listing

La Lomita Historic District

5 mi. S of Mission on FM 1016, Mission, TX

The focal point of the La Lomita Historic District is the small chapel of the old La Lomita Mission. Besides the architectural charm of the small rural chapel, the Mission served as an important impetus in the settlement of the area. The surrounding 122 acres contained within the historic district include the only hill evident within the area. Due to this geographical feature, owners have adopted the name "LaLomita" for this section of the land since the late eighteenth century. This land is a section of the original porciones inherited by the Oblate Fathers in 1871. Built on top of the "Little Hill" in 1912, St. Peter's Novitiate served as a novitiate training center for student priests until the late 1950s. Together the Mission chapel, farmlands, and novitiate represent not only a tangible reminder of the evolution of the Catholic church in the lower Rio Grande Valley but also document the important role the Oblate Fathers played in settling this southern tip of Texas.

In 1767 by order of King Carles III of Spain, the government began a more just and equal allotment of territory by laying out "porciones." Starting at the banks of the Rio Grande River, narrow tracts of land stretched inward so that each tract would have free access to the river. An average "porcion" consisted of about two-thirds of a mile on the river bank and stretched inland from eleven to sixteen miles. Porcion fifty-five was originally ceded to Jose Antonio Cantu ca. 1770 and he established a large ranch called "Rancho La Lomita", named for the one small hill on the porcion. After the land passed through several owners, Rene Guyard bought the property in 1851. Six years before Guyard had purchased procion fifty-seven. Guyard, a native of France who first settled in Reynosa in 1800, was a devout Roman Catholic. In 1852 he became acquainted with the missionary Oblates of Immaculate who had landed at Port Isabel three years before. Seeking spiritual guidance for those who worked on his extensive ranch lands, Guyard encouraged the priests to travel through his property. As Guyard's ranch became a way station between the Brownsville headquarters and the Roma Mission, the Oblate Fathers built an adobe chapel in 1865 and named it La Lomita Chapel. In 1871 Rene Guyard died and willed porciones fifty-five and fifty-seven to the Missionary Oblates.

The Oblate Fathers retained ownership of the property and rented it to various ranches to receive some economic return. The ranch increasingly became an economic burden and the priests were forced to turn to other means of financing the upkeep of the property. One solution was an agreement with the Wells Fargo Company to rent out a few of their houses and allow the mission to be used as a remount station for the stagecoach. However, the financial burden eventually caused the Oblate Fathers to sell all the land except for the La Lomita Chapel and a few hundred acres surrounding it.

Flood waters eventually deteriorated the first adobe chapel and a new stone structure was built in 1899. A village sprang up around the chapel, which stood at the center of a small plaza. The Oblate Fathers built a rectory, guest house, quarters for the lay brothers, a blacksmith shop, and a buggy shed. In addition, a dozen or more huts were used by families of Mexican laborers gathered in the area. But in 1904 the railroad arrived in Hidalgo County and by 1907-8 the people of the Mission village began to move to the new settlement located along the railroad approximately five miles north of La Lomita Mission.

In honor of the La Lomita Mission, which had helped bring the first settlers to the area, the new town took the name Mission, Texas. In 1908 the post office was transferred from La Lomita to renamed Mission. The town had been founded on the old mission lands originally owned by the Missionary Oblates. The Oblates purchased three plots in the new town and 1910 built Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. However, the chapel was never completely abandoned. Periodic services have continued for the ranch people in the immediate area since that time.

In 1912 the Missionary Oblates chose to build a Novitiate on their land in Hidalgo County. Selecting the most spectacular view, the three-story brick building was located atop the little hill. St. Peter's Novitiate was named in honor of Father Peter Keralum, O.M.I., who tragically died while on a tour of the South Texas Missions in the 1870s. He was one of the early
missionaries to serve the L Lomita Mission and was a founding father of Oblate work in Texas.

The building was used as a Novitiate Training Center for student priests until the late 1950s. Recently St. Peter's Novitiate and 100 acres of farmlands have been leased by the Missionary oblates to the Tropical Texas Center for Mental Health/Mental Retardation (La Lomita Farms) for 50 years. The MH/MR Center will farm the surrounding acres and use the Novitiate for educational and vocational training for the mentally retarded. In addition, one floor of the building will be used as an art museum and community meeting space for the people of Mission, Texas.

La Lomita Historic District was nominated as a district rather than nominating the two individual buildings, for the significance of the buildings is tied so closely to the land. Serving as both a historical and visual link between the two buildings the 122 acres are part of the original lands owned by the Oblate Fathers and used for ranching and farming. La Lomita Mission was first founded to provide religious training and services for the members of the "Rancho La Lomita." When the owner of the ranch died he willed all of this property to the Oblate Fathers. The 122 acres included within the district are a portion of the remaining 300 acres the Oblate Fathers still own. The Mission Chapel was founded as a rural outpost and, as the district's focal point, the chapel retains this rural character.

The other significant structure, St. Peter's Novitiate, represents the evolution of the role of the Oblate Fathers in the region. Built on top of the hill for which "Rancho La Lomita" and "La Lomita Mission" were named, the Novitiate's significance is also tied to the rural surroundings. The site was chosen in 1912 because it was a secluded one and, once again, the rural setting is important in maintaining this ambiance.

The specific boundaries were chosen because these are two parcels of land that the Oblate Fathers have recently leased and on which restoration is taking place. St. Peter's Novitiate and 100 acres of land are presently leased to the MH/MR to adaptivity and restore the Novitiate as a center for the mentally retarded. The remaining lands will continue to be used as farm and ranch land. The Oblate Fathers have also leased an additional 22 acres west of the canal to the city of Mission. The city is planning to restore the chapel and utilize the remaining acres for a park.

Local significance of the district:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1975.