To the date, March 27, 1849, the United States Government set up the permanent Fort Duncan Military Post on the East Bank of the Rio Grande River, which was named in honor of Mexican- American War hero, James Duncan.
History records show that the establishment of the Fort Duncan brought an increase of traffic through the area leading to the settling and establishing of Eagle Pass.
Eagle Pass became the first American settlement on the Rio and has had many historical significant occurrences during its time.
One of those events goes back to 1865 when Fort
Duncan was held by the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
On July 4, 1865, General Joseph O. Shelby, en route to offer his troops' services to Maximilian in Mexico, stopped at Fort Duncan and buried the last Confederate flag to have flown over his men, in the Rio Grande River.
Our region at one point in history was ruled over by King Fisher, an outlaw rancher who lived in Eagle Pass and reigned the territory for numerous years until his ambush and murder in San Antonio in 1884.
During the 17 decades of existence, Eagle Pass has gone through dark times in our history and has overcome those many changes and continues to grow as every year passes. We have survived America's Civil War, Great Depression, The Stock Market Crash of 1929, Wars, the September 11, 2001 (911) Attacks and other dark times in our country's history.
We, like millions of Americans are resilient people and will survive the threat that is upon us at this time.
Our community is currently going through times of uncertainty, as family's health, businesses, and our dreams are at risk not from a threat of war but a virus that could cause casualties even in your own home, our home. A community that we all love.
That is why we should all work together to assure that we follow each and every restriction being set to safeguard us.
Our lives truly depend on it. "Eagle Pass has endured floods, explosions, tornadoes, and we will endure this epidemic.
Our people are hard working and resilient. Through any difficult time we come together to help our friends and neighbors in need. I am seeing our community's response to this current situation, and I am glad to see the majority of our citizens taking the extra precautions to stay safe. We will overcome this, and as always, we will be better in the long run," said Mayor Luis Sifuentes.
At this time, unlike last year there is no celebrating our community's birthday due to a somber reality that our residents are in harms way from a virus that has taken a grasp of our Nation.
But, like so many other times in our history, as a community we will overcome and one day sing, Happy Birthday to you, Paso del Aguila.