Agua Negra

Ditto is on the Atascosa River five miles northwest of Poteet in northern Atascosa County. Before it got a post office the community went by the name of Agua Negra, which referred to the dark water that came out of a natural spring containing iron oxide. Records of settlement date back to the late 1700s, when the area was part of the San Jose Mission Ranch. The first post office in the area was called Mottomosa, from Spanish Mota Mosa ("beautiful grove"), and was discontinued in 1875. When the postmaster applied for a new post office in 1881, he wrote out the word ditto on the form to indicate that the office should have the same name as before, but his intention was misinterpreted and the town became Ditto.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.