Lopeño

History

The development of the area began c. 1747 when Col. José de Escandón began bringing colonists to establish permanent settlements along Mexico's northern frontier, when parcels of land were granted to the colonists by the Spanish government. In 1767 Ysabel María Sánchez, widow of early settler and rancher Joseph López, was allotted more than 6000 acres. The village of Lopeño, later developed on this land, was named after the López family. During the early 1800s, part of the López land passed to the ownership of the Ramírez family founders of the nearby village of Falcón. In 1821, Benito Ramírez built a combination home, fort, and chapel that came to be Fort Lopeño. Federal troops briefly occupied the fort during 1856 to ease border disturbances. A general store, established in the early 1900s by Serafín Benavides, served as the area's only supply point at the time. A post office was established in 1920 and in 1934 oil and gas were drilled in the area.

Geography

Lopeño is located at (26.709987, -99.109457). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 0.8 square mile (2.0 km2), all land.

Race & ethnicity