HISTORY · HISTORICAL MARKER
Porvenir Massacre
History
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Porvenir, a small farming and ranching community in remote northwest Presidio County on the Rio Grande, became the site of a notorious tragedy in 1918 amid military conflicts and raids along the international border during the Mexican Revolution. In the early morning hours of January 28, 1918, a group of Texas Rangers from Company B in Marfa, U.S. Army soldiers from Troop G of the 8th Cavalry, and local ranchers arrived at the ranch of Manuel Moralez and separated fifteen able-bodied men and boys from the women, children, and other men. Though initial accounts denied wrongdoing, later testimony confirmed that the fifteen victims were shot and killed. Family members crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico to bury Antonio Castañeda, Longino Flores, Pedro Herrera, Vivian Herrera, Severiano Herrera, Manuel Moralez, Eutemio González, Ambrosio Hernández, Alberto García, Tiburcio Jáquez, Róman Nieves, Serapio Jiménez, Pedro Jiménez, Juan Jiménez, and Macedonio Huertas. In June 1918, Governor William P. Hobby and Adjutant General James A. Harley disbanded Company B, dismissed five Rangers for their actions at Porvenir, and forced Captain J.M. Fox’s resignation. State Representative J.T. Canales filed charges with the Texas Legislature against the Texas Rangers for the oppression and murder of hundreds of ethnic Mexicans along the Rio Grande. At an investigation beginning January 31, 1919, legislators heard testimony regarding several incidents, including Porvenir, and the Texas Rangers were reorganized and reduced in size. In the aftermath of the attack, approximately 140 remaining residents of Porvenir abandoned the community.
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