Aguilares is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Webb County

Webb County, Texas

Webb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The official 2010 population for the county is 250,304. In 2000, its population was 193,117, and in 2006 its population had been estimated to have reached to 231,470. Its county seat is Laredo...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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History

Aguilares dates back from 1870, it was named after first settlers and ranchers José, Locario, Francisco, Próspero, and Librado Aguilar. It became a stop on the Texas-Mexican railroad

Texas Mexican Railway

The Texas Mexican Railway is a class 1 railroad that operates as a subsidiary of Kansas City Southern Railway in Texas. It is often referred to as the Tex-Mex, or TexMex Railway....

 in 1881 and was granted a post office nine years later. The population (thought to be a huge exaggeration) was given as 1,500 in 1910 - but four years later it was reportedly a mere 300. The Aguilar family owned a store - one of the town's two businesses.

Oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

 was discovered nearby in Oilton, Texas

Oilton, Texas

Oilton is a census-designated place in Webb County, Texas, United States. The population was 310 at the 2000 census. The community is within the boundary of Webb Consolidated Independent School District and it is home to the Oilton Elementary School....

 and for a short time the town seemed to have a future - but although (or because) it was on a railroad - it lost population to the nearby county seat of Laredo, Texas

Laredo, Texas

Laredo is the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 236,091 making it the 3rd largest on the United States-Mexican border,...

. In the 1930s the post office was discontinued and in 1939 Aquilares' population was given as 10.

It rose to 25 by 1945 but the 1990 census again reported ten residents. Aguilares modest claim to fame was being the birthplace of television and movie character actor Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez

Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez

Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez was an American character actor best known for his appearances in a number of John Wayne movies....

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