In 1831, Marcelino Lopez of Camargo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, applied for and received a land grant from the Mexican State of Tamaulipas, beginning the settlement of Los Preseños on the bank of San Fernando Creek about two miles east of present-day Alice. The settlement prospered along a trade route connecting Corpus Christi with San Diego, Laredo, and Eagle Pass. Los Preseños appeared on official maps from 1832 until 1878, when a railroad line from Corpus Christi to Laredo was being built through the Los Preseños Land Grant. In 1877, N.G. Collins bought the property from the Lopez family and founded the town of Collins, which soon replaced Los Preseños.