PALO ALTO COLLEGE

San Antonio, Texas

SMALL TOWN HISTORY:

BENAVIDES

 

Sarah Canales Fall 2002
History 1302 Hines

 

Benavides, Texas

Interview With Adolfo R. Barrera

Bibliography

Benavides is located in Duval County where it is the third most populous city. It lies on the intersections of state highways 339 and highway 359 and Farm Road 2295. Its current population is 1788. The majority of the residents in Benavides are of Mexican descent and most are fluent in both the English and Spanish languages. The land area of Benavides is approximately 4,674 kilometers.

On one side of this town, divided by the Texas-Mexican Railway, is a more modern Benavides; a gas station, a small restaurant, and a modern post office. The evidence of a strive towards modern technological change is very present on this side. On the other side is a reminder of past days when oil production and a bank were the foundation of this city.

The city is named for Placido Benavides, nephew to the elder Benavides and a confederate army veteran. In the 1870’s Benavides built a ranch near the Texas-Mexican Railroad, called Rancho Palo Alto, into one of the biggest ranches in Duval County. In 1880, a railroad depot was built on his land by the county with Placido’s permission. The following year, in 1881, he donated 80 acres of the surrounding land to the growing community around the railroad station. He grew very successful in his ranch and horse-trading business. In 1891 he was listed in the Corpus Christi Weekly Caller, as the owner of 60 percent of the 100 acres of the cotton fields in the city of Benavides.

Although the size of this town may lead people to believe it is insignificant in the history books of Texas, I found that Benavides holds some secrets of great importance. A seemingly simple town at first unfolds to show its true complexity and its place in the history of Texas.

Placido Benavides:

Placido Benavides was born in Reynosa Tampulipas, Mexico. In 1828 Benavides made his way to Texas as the secretary to Fernando De Leon. In 1831 he married the empresario’s daughter, Agustina De Leon and settled on the land by the Zorillo creek, which was later renamed the Placido creek in his honor.

In 1832, Benavides was elected alcalde of Guadalupe Victoria, and in 1833, with the death of his father-in-law, he was authorized by the Mexican government to resume the responsibilities of the late empresario.

Placido Benavides in the Texas Revolution

In the Texas Revolution, Placido Benavides fought for the independence of Texas, as its own republic from the control of the centralist dictator Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna. While many of the Texan Mexicans of the time fought for Santa Anna as centralist, Benavides carried the views of the federalist group, which he joined on October 15, 1835, along with 30 other rancheros from the area.

In 1835, Benavides led an attack on the Mexican General Cos in San Antonio. Even though all Mexican federalist of the Texas Revolution were seen as the enemy despite of their position towards Mexico’s control, by many of the newly arrived American troops, Benavides was respected by them because of his war abilities. He was appointed first lieutenant of Calvary of the Texian militia.

However, the pressure of a losing battle for Benavides soon had its effects. After announcing a newfound neutralist position in the revolution, he was put to the test when he discovered an old battle partner of his wounded from the war. Benavides was intent on helping his old war mate, despite his so-called neutral position. He was caught by a Mexican cavalry patrol and in an attempt to save his own life handed over his wounded friend and proclaimed he had caught a rebel.

In 1836, with the end of the revolution, General Thomas Rusk of the Texian forces ordered the removal of several prominent Mexican families in fear of another Mexican attack. The De Leon family, which Rusk included the Benavides family partly of because of Placido’s marriage to Agustina, were forced to leave the state, despite the fact that they had both fought for the independence of Texas. Placido and his family fled to Opelousas, Louisiana, where he died a year later in 1837.

The Texas-Mexican Railway

The Texas-Mexican Railway

One look at this town and any observers would notice the reason why this town is located where it is. Running clear through the center of this town is the train tracks of the Texas-Mexican Railway.

The Texas-Mexican Railway was originally owned by the Corpus Christi, San Diego, and Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad Company. Uriah Lott promoted it with financial support from Richard King and Miffin Kennedy. In 1881, the company was sold to William J. Palmer and James Sullivan, who changed the company’s name to The Texas-Mexican Railway Company and thus came the name by which the railway is known today.

In 1877, at the start of its existence the train tracks covered 25 miles from Corpus Christi, TX to Banquete, TX. In 1880, the train tracks were extended into Benavides. By 1885 the railway was expanded to link the U.S. to Mexico. The Tex-Mex Railway is one of the two carriers responsible for 50 percent of the rail traffic between the U.S. and Mexico.

Discovery of the First Discovery

If you looked up the subject of oil discovery in America, you are unlikely to come across the names Juan Saenz Lopez or Piedras Pintas. More likely than not you will find the Titusville, Pennsylvania oil discovery listed as the first oil discovery in America.

However, I found this information to be false, the first discovery of American oil hailed not from Pennsylvania, but from Piedras Pintas.

Every Benavides resident is aware of the town Piedras Pintas; it is no more than a one minute drive from the center of Benavides. However, what some residents are not aware of is the fact that Piedras Pintas is the site of the first American oil discovery.

Juan Saenz Lopez

Juan Saenz Lopez was a migrant from Mexico who came to America in 1854. A homesteader, he took up the land along the Piedras Pintas Creek. While digging for water on his new land he accidentally struck oil.

Mr. Lopez created a business selling the oil, mostly for its believed medical purposes. Because of the little commotion caused by the true value of this strange substance, it is easy to understand why little recognition has been given to Lopez.

Piedras Pintas

Although Piedras Pintas was once a prospering town, today it is nothing more than a fenced in area of lifeless land. It is owned by a Benavides resident and is more commonly known to the Benavides residents as a graveyard than anything else. Saenz Lopez is said to be buried in this cemetery; however, because the land is now private property the authenticity of this claim cannot be certain.

Mexican Influence

No immigrant influence can be more often found in Benavides than that of Mexicans.

The Park
The only park in Benavides is located in the center of town and is simply titled, “The Park.” The design of the park carries that traditional Mexican influence that can be seen through out Benavides.

 

 

 

 

St. Rosa of Lima Dedication plaque

St. Rosa of Lima is the only Catholic Church in Benavides. It is located in the center of town across from The Park. It was built in 1940 and is dedicated to the memory of Rosa Vaello by Bishop E.B. Ledvina of Corpus Christi, Texas.

A large majority of the towns people speak English, but when Spanish is spoken it is a very natural sound, not like something heard from a foreign person speaking out of tongue, but rather a integral part of their heritage that has been passed down from generation to generation as a linkage to their history.

older homes

Several of the older homes also maintain this integrity in their design.

 

 

 

 

hacienda

Located between the Old Benavides Bank and an old Texaco station stands the remains of an old building known as a hacienda. Haciendas were Spanish homes used to house many people. Cattle and sheep were often bred in these places.

This building is very old and on the verge of collapse. But the people around town do not seem to mind its presence. No wire fences or yellow tape lines barricade the area and a no trespassing sign will not be found. There along with the old bank and Texaco station are the reminders of where Benavides got its start. And although time has seemed to take its toll on these buildings, they seem relatively untouched by bothersome human hands.

City Hall
If you looked in the Duval phonebook you would find that Benavides has its own library, City Hall, and fire department. However, if you looked closely enough you would also see that all three places are located within the same building.

 

 

Archer Parr

The man responsible for the “most notorious dynasty in Texas” is credited to Archer Parr.

Archer (Archie) Parr was born on Matagorda Island, Texas in 1860. In 1882 Parr moved to Benavides. There he married and started a family with his wife, Elizabeth Allen, who gave birth to his three sons and three daughters. There he also started his political dynasty.

Archer Parr in Politics

Like many of the immigrants that came to America, those from Mexico were met with stereotypical roles of what was thought of them, and the Mexicans of 1800’s Benavides were of no exception. The majority of the Benavides population was of Mexican heritage and many were Mexican-Americans (children born in America to Mexican parents) often they were viewed as unimportant servants to the political parties of that time. No Mexicans were allowed to be heard in the political spotlight. When the “Mexican” people were allowed to vote, their employers accompanied them and decided what would be marked on their ballots. The Hispanic people came to view voting more as a work “condition” than an American privilege. Recognizing the Hispanic majority in Benavides, Parr integrated himself with the manly Mexican community. Parr controlled the Hispanics not by force but by respect. Because of this mutual respect Parr gave the Hispanics that no other Anglo-politician before him had bothered with, Parr was widely supported when he showed interest in politics.

Parr's big break came when in 1907, a tax collector (and Democrat) John Cleary was assassinated over a supposed dispute between him and J.J. Lawson over interests in the Piedras Pintas oilfield. Arrested along with Lawson for Cleary’s murder were Jeff Lawson and Candelario Saenz. However, only Saenz was brought to trial for the murder. To his advantage, however, the case was later dismissed when both testifying witness died of sudden illness. As a Democrat, Parr was able to gain more political power through Cleary’s murder.

Although Parr could be commended for his integration of Hispanics into a political position, the antics he took while in his political office can only be condemned.

Tax evasion and voting fraud was what Parr was known for. When he felt that votes might not go his way, he took matters into his own hands, using threats and intimidation.

In 1912, Parr’s plans to incorporate San Diego in order to expand the area available to him for his fraud resulted in a political gunfight that left three Hispanic county officials (and Parr supporters) dead.

In 1914, Parr was elected Governor of Duval County. Following his successful election an audit of Duval County’s accounts was ordered by Parr’s rivals, Republican James Luby and Ed Laster.

There was enough evidence to convict Parr, but a fire in the Duval County Court House (of Parr’s doing) prevented any further condemning documents from being released and destroyed any evidence the could be used in trial. However, a few documents did manage to survive the fire and made their way to the grand jury under Judge Hopkins, a former collaborator of Parr’s.

Seeing a possible conviction from Hopkins, who was now intent on doing the right thing, Parr had a new judicial district created for Duval County. Volney Taylor became the new judge, and all charges were eventually dismissed under Parr’s new team.

In 1917, the risk of Parr’s fraud being exposed became a bigger worry when Governor James Ferguson, a Parr supporter, was impeached and replaced by William Holdby, an honest man aware of Parr’s unethical politics.

Further worries were soon to follow in his 1918 campaign for senator. The allowance of women voters in the primary elections was now legal. Because of Parr’s anti-prohibition votes in the senate (a right that many women movements supported), Parr feared a lack of support from the new voters.

Unfortunately for Parr, his instincts proved right. When the votes came through they clearly revealed his opponent, D.W. Glasscock had won the election. However, Parr managed to fix the votes so that when they were reported to the public they showed 1,303 votes for Parr and 23 for Glasscock. Glasscock’s attempts to prevent Parr from taking oath to office exposed Parr’s voting fraud to the Committee on Elections and Privileges. Unfortunately for Glasscock, his voting fraud was also exposed in the process. Once again Parr slipped by untouched and remained in his political seat with a vote of 16 to 14 in Parr’s favor.

In 1934, after being defeated by opponent James Neal for senator, Parr- by now 73 years old and unable to control the political party as he once had- retired. On October 18, 1942, Archie Parr died. Unfortunately for the city of Benavides and the county of Duval the Parr dynasty was anything but over.

George Parr

Of Archie’s three sons only one, George, would inherit his father’s lust for politics. Unfortunately, George would also inherit his father’s way of conducting politics.

George Berham Parr was born March 1, 1901 in San Diego, TX, to Elizabeth Allen and Archie Parr. At the age of 22, after a unfortunate string of failures in several colleges, George passed the bar examination for law practice.

In 1926, Archie called upon his son to serve as county judge when his eldest son, Givens, chose to resign. It soon became apparent that George had a natural keen interest in continuing his father’s legacy.

Like Archie, George also took advantage of a friendship with the Hispanic community. He became fluent in the Spanish language and became a personal friends to most of the community.

In 1936, he was imprisoned for nine months for income-tax evasion. He was so admired by the community, however, that this incident seemed to go by unnoticed. Parr returned to his political position upon being released from jail as if he had never left.

He gained power in both the political and economic sense. He relied on the help from other politics, as his father had done, to do “favors” for him. By 1948 Parr was the president of the State Banks in both Alice and San Diego. Within that same year he also had a hand in putting London B. Johnson into the senate. He had an election fixed so that LBJ would be the victor over his opponent, Coke R. Stevenson.

Unfortunately, for George he also had enemies like his father who sought to rid Duval of Parr rule. In 1952, two Parr opposers and the son of another were murdered. Evidence was found against Parr that held him responsible for the brutal murder of Buddy Floyd. This marked the beginning of the end for Parr. His political enemies now swore to rid Duval of Parr. Over 600 indictments were brought against Parr and his political buddies, but Parr managed to escape any conviction.

However, in the 1970’s Parr was convicted for federal income tax evasion and sentenced to five years. Because Parr failed to be present at his hearing, an arrest warrant was issued for him. FBI agent Ruben Martinez, along with other agents and deputy marshals began a manhunt for Parr.

Upon interviewing Parr’s wife, Eva, Martinez was able to determine that Parr was carrying both a .45 semiautomatic gun and his AR-15 rifle, which he used for deer hunting. Parr was believed to be on his ranch, but because night had already fallen in the area, no one was willing to search for an armed man in the darkness. A plan was made to search the area by air the following morning. Within 10 minutes of satarting the aerial search, Parr’s car was discovered. Circles were made around his car by the helicopter in an attempt to see inside. When no movement was detected, the helicopter landed. Agent Martinez retreated to the car, weapon in hand and ready to take action if Parr were to be hiding in the car. However, there was no response from inside the car.

There in the afternoon of April 1, 1975 agent Martinez discovered the body of George Parr. He had a self inflicted gunshot wound to the right temple and his .45 semiautomatic gun in his lap.

Benivides Cemetery
The local cemetery is a very important part of any town’s history. It provides visitors with a record of who lived and died in that area. Although every many buried six feet below may not have been a war hero or famous politician every man is, however, an important building block that contributed to the development and production that has formed the present day city.

The Benavides cemetery is no exception; every deceased person carries his or her own story. Most took there stories with them to their grave, but a certain few left them behind. Most noticeably are the graves of Archie and George Parr. Also in the cemetery are the remains of Juan Saenz Lopez’s son, Praxedis Saenz Lopez.

Settlement and Economy

Prior to 1721 the land in and around what would become Benavides remained unsettled. The threat of Indian attacks, such as those from the local Comanche tribe, and the land quality referred to as “El Desierto Muerto,” by early Spaniards, prevented any inhabitants in the area.

In the 1820’s settlers began to appear around Duval County, and in 1848 the first settlement in the county was formed.

Land in the area back then was cheap and could often be bought for as little as 12 cents per acre. Sheep, cattle, and cotton were the main forms of revenue for the local area. However, this was to change with the introduction of the Corpus Christi-San Diego, Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad (Texas-Mexican Railway), which reached Benavides in 1880. The cattle industry did however manage to survive and is still an important part of the local economy today. With the arrival of the train, small communities such as Piedras Pintas died out as the inhabitants moved towards the more prosperous city of Benavides.

An Old Texaco Oil Refinery

In the 1910’s the discovery of oil proved to be more of a burden than an actual blessing because of the unknown purpose of this land-damaging product. However, as time progressed and the development of oil consuming products became commonplace in America the true value of the oil at Pintas was revealed. Because of the oil production, the local economy was able to sustain, even flourish, during the Great Depression.

In the 1940’s the Benavides population reached an all-time high peaking at 3,000. In the 1950’s business sales reached an excess of $2,000,000.

The Old Bank of Benavides

Future Prospects

Today a decline in the economy that once made this area prosper can be put to blame for the decline in Benavides’ population. More and more often people are relocating to bigger cities; drawn in by the advances in modern technology that these cities hold and a community with a larger population. Cities, such as Alice, TX and Corpus Christi have had an increase in population due to the residents of Benavides relocating.

Whether or not Benavides holds the same fate as that of the no-longer existing cities of Piedras Pintas and Mota is yet to be seen. However, the steady decline in population science the 1950’s till the present day may foretell the fate of this town’s ultimate demise.

Interview:

Adolfo R. Barrera was born in Laredo but raised in Benavides. He is a man very proud of his small town roots and was kind enough to provide me with an interview about Benavides. He currently resides in San Antonio where he is the Vice President of Student Affairs at Palo Alto College.

1. Why did Placido Benavides choose this land to settle?

“The elevation of Benavides. Benavides is on a Basin. In the early 1850’s people always settled where it was easier to dig a water well.”

2. Why did Placido allow the county to build a railroad depot on his land in 1880?

“It meant more commerce and trade for his business. Cattle and the railroad was the name of the game.”

3. In 1881 Placido Benavides donated 80 acres of the land around the railroad to the community. For what reasons did he do this?

“The sooner you got your cattle to the railroad the less you had to deal with bandits and rustlers and the sooner you got money in your pocket.”

4. To what would you contribute to the growth in Benavides’ economy in the 1950’s?

“The oil and gas. The big oil boom in Duval County; Mobil, Exxon, Humble, and Continental.”

5. To what would you attribute to the steady decrease in Benavides’ population since the 1950’s? Do you believe that the advance in technology such as electricity, indoor pluming, or a larger local community had any contribution to this decrease?

“To the decline in oil, the improvement of the highways, the navy base in Corpus Christi employed a lot of people from Benavides, and Texas and I educated a lot of the people. People went to school elsewhere and got jobs elsewhere.”

6. Are you familiar with Archer Parr or the Parr family? If yes, what do you know about him? Why was he considered troublesome to Duval County?

“Local office ran the boss politics. They were responsible for putting London B. Johnson in the senate and then into the Presidency. They controlled the local politics.”

7. What do you believe people would find most interesting about Benavides?

“There are people that are very proud of growing up in a small community. It’s a place to raise a family in close knit, safe environment. That’s what there proud of.”

Bibliography

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