NEW ZAPATA

The location of Zapata, along the shores of Falcon International Reservoir, is considered the state’s capital of world-class bass fishing. The reservoir, dedicated in 1953 and constructed to provide water conservation, irrigation to farmlands, flood control, and hydroelectricity to the surrounding regions on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border, has become a favorite destination for serious bass anglers nationwide. Its construction also required Zapata citizens to move the original townsite to higher ground to avoid inundation by the slowly rising reservoir waters. Zapata’s sister city of Guerrero, Mexico did the same, leaving behind the remains of its Spanish Colonial iteration, the 1750 Villa del Senor San Ignacio de Loyola de Revilla. During seasons of drought when the Falcon Reservoir water level drops below normal, ruins of Old Guerrero can still be seen above the waterline.

Zapata history dates back to the mid-1700s as well, providing some of the earliest documentation of civilized settlements this side of the Rio Grande River. The Zapata County Museum of History provides visitors with a comprehensive, balanced interpretation of the surrounding region’s past. Artifacts mix with interactive exhibits that explore an important period of Texas’ earliest history.