German-born architect, builder, and brickmaker Heinrich (Enrique) Portscheller arrived in Starr County by way of Mexico shortly after the American Civil War. During the second half of the 19th century, when Roma was the westernmost port on the Rio Grande and both Roma and Rio Grande City were vibrant commercial centers, he established a brickyard in Roma using skills passed down through several generations of his family. He later designed and constructed many buildings in several towns on both sides of the Rio Grande, and his contributions to the distinctive architecture of the lower Rio Grande remain visible throughout Roma’s historic downtown, a National Historic Landmark. His work seen in Roma includes the Manuel Guerra residence and store, Pablo Ramírez house, Antonia Sáenz house, and Nestor Sáenz store, while the Silverio de la Peña office and drugstore remains an example of his work in Rio Grande City. His load-bearing brick buildings are marked by pressed and moulded brick, classical columns and pilasters, ornamental iron balconies, courtyard arcades, and ornately detailed brick cornices and window and door surrounds. In 1894, the arrival of the railroad in Laredo and the related building boom drew him to move his family there, and in Laredo he lived and worked until his death in 1915, constructing St. Peter the Apostle Church, an iron bridge, and several cisterns and residences.