Victoria

Scattered Anglo-American settlers lived in the area when Don Martin de Leon founded Victoria with 41 Spanish families in 1824. It was named for Gen. Guadalupe Victoria, who became Mexico’s first president. Historical markers and graves in Evergreen Cemetery cite the de Leon family, prominent in early Texas colonization. Victoria was one of the first three towns incorporated by the Republic of Texas. Today, it is a major industrial and agricultural crossroads of South Texas, and home of Victoria College and the University of Houston at Victoria.