Roma, Texas

Roma is a city in Starr County, Texas, United States. The population was 9,765 at the 2010 census. The city is located along the Rio Grande, across from Ciudad Miguel Alemán in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

The city is also popularly known as Roma-Los Saenz, since the incorporated city also took the area known as Los Saenz.

City

Location of Roma, Texas

Coordinates: 26°24′22″N 99°0′20″W

History

Roma was founded in 1765 and incorporated in 1936. It serves as a port of entry from Mexico into the U.S. via theRoma-Ciudad Miguel Alemán International Bridge. Prior to Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836, the town was listed as under the jurisdiction of the town of Mier, Tamaulipas, and prior to Mexican independence existed under Spanish rule. 

The Roma National Historic Landmark District contains over 30 structures built before 1900. Some of those buildings include the Customs House, (Casa de Aduanas, in Spanish)

 

Roma, TX Customs House

where shippers and brokers came to pay customs fees for imported goods from Europe and Mexico on steam boats, the John Vale/Noah Cox House,

 

Roma, TX John Vale / Noah Cox House

built in 1853 by Swedish immigrant John Vale, and whose front elevation has finely carved sandstone with classical details on the cornice, the Leocadia Garcia House,

 

Roma, TX Leocadia Garcia House

built in the 1840s, which served first as a dwelling for José Maria Garcia, husband of Leocadia, and then as a store and dance hall, Rosita's Cantina (bar),

 

Roma, TX Rosita's Cantina (bar)

built by Portscheller in the 1880s, the Manuel Guerra Building,

 

Roma, TX Manuel Guerra Building

the crown jewel of restored buildings in Roma, the Néstor Saenz Store,

 

Roma, TX Nestor Saenz Store

with direct access to the wharf area, just below Juarez street, where steam boats anchored, the Edward Hord Office, built in 1853, for Edward R. Hord, who represented Mexican heirs of original landowners in the area and, during the Civil War, functioned as a military building, the Filomeno Gongora House,

 

Roma, TX Filomeno Gongora House

built from sandstone blocks, built around the 1830s, the oldest house in Roma, the Our Lady of Refuge Church,

 

Roma, TX Our Lady of Refuge Church

built in 1853 by Father Perre Keralum (1817=1872), a carpenter-turned-priest of the Oblates, and the Parish Hall,

 

Roma, TX Parish Hall

which housed the convent of the Sisters of the Incarnate Word (1880s-1913) and the Sisters of Mercy (1813-1940).

Geography

Roma is located at 26°24′22″N 99°0′20″W (26.406101, -99.005644).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km²), of which 2.8 square miles (7.1 km²) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.3 km²) (4.50%) is water.

The City of Roma is located along the Rio Grande, which is the frontier between the United States and Mexico.

Education

Public education in the city of Roma is provided by the Roma Independent School District. Zoned campuses include Anna S. Canavan Elementary School for pre-kindergarten, in grades K-5, the western portion of the city is zoned to Florence J. Scott Elementary and the eastern portion is zoned to Roel and Celia Saenz Elementary School. A small area located near the eastern city limit line lies within the boundaries of Ynes B. Elementary School. Roma is served by both of the district's middle schools – Roma and Ramiro Barrera (grades 6-8), with a majority zoned to Roma Middle. Roma High School  serves students in grades 9-12.

Roma in popular culture

The town is the scene identified as the burial site of artifacts from the Library at Alexandria in Clive Cussler's novel Treasure.

Filming for the 1952 film Viva Zapata!, scripted by John Steinbeck and directed by Elia Kazan, took place in Roma. The film and the city are recurring motifs in Larry McMurtry's 1972 novel All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers, and the book's conclusion takes place in and around Roma.

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma,_Texas

Classifieds in Roma