La Villa

La Villa is on the Southern Pacific line and Farm Road 491 off State Highway 107, twenty miles northeast of McAllen in eastern Hidalgo County. It is on land that was part of the land grant issued to Vicente de Ynojosa by Spain in 1797. A community existed in the area by 1800. Settlement by northern Anglo-Americans started after the railroad arrived in the county. In 1927 the town became a shipping point and post office on the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway. The population was 100 in 1933, and in 1947 La Villa was made up of eight businesses and a population of 200. On September 1, 1953, the La Villa Independent School District was established. La Villa had a school, two churches, eighteen businesses, numerous dwellings, and a population of 200 in 1957. The population of the community increased gradually during the 1960s and 1970s and reached 1,388 in 1990. In 2000 the population was 1,305.