Fernando

Fernando was in the vicinity of Fernando East Road and Farm Road 2925 ten miles northeast of Combes and U.S. Highway 77 in north central Cameron County. The area was first settled in the early 1800s by Mexican ranchers who found the land around the Arroyo Colorado suitable for raising herds of cattle and small patches of corn and melons. The settlement, originally called San Fernando, became a station on the San Benito and Rio Grande Valley Railway in 1913. The railroad was discontinued in 1928, and the site was consequently deserted. In 1948 the mail for the remaining dispersed community of citrus-fruit growers and irrigated farms was routed through Rio Hondo. By 1970 only the Fernando East Road remained in the area.