Laredo

City in southern Texas, USA, on the Rio Grande, 240 km/149 mi south of San Antonio, on the Mexican border; seat of Webb County; population (2000 est) 176,600. A centre for trade between Mexico and the USA, it grew rapidly after the railway arrived here in 1881 and after the discovery of oil in the early 1920s. Industries include oil refining and metal processing as well as electrical equipment and processed food. Bermuda onions and early grapes are grown here.

Laredo was founded as San Agustin de Laredo by Spanish settlers led by Captain Thomás Śanchez in 1755, and became a Mexican city in 1821. It was the capital of the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840, but this fledgling state collapsed within a year and Laredo reverted to Mexico, before becoming part of Texas in 1848. Laredo was incorporated in 1852. Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, on the opposite bank of the Rio Grande, is a textile centre. It was considered part of Laredo until the international border was established in 1848; there is much cross-border trade between the two cities.

Fort McIntosh was built in 1849 and is one of seven entries on the national register of historic places. The city is the seat of Laredo State University (1969), since 1993 the Texas A & M International University. The town became known for the song composed by Francis Maynard in 1876, ‘The Streets of Laredo’.