LAREDO

city, seat (1848) of Webb County, southern Texas, U.S., on the Rio Grande (there bridged to Nuevo Laredo, Mex.), 153 miles (246 km) southwest of San Antonio. It was established in 1755 by Toms Snchez as a ferry crossing and was named for Laredo, Spain. For more than 200 years Laredo was the scene of violence: Indian wars, border banditry, and the rowdyism of adventurers on their way to the California goldfields. After the Texas revolt against Mexico (1836), Laredo was in a no-man's-land and became the seat of the short-lived (183941) Republic of the Rio Grande; the building that served as the capitol, over which seven flags have flown, is now a museum. With its adobe houses, church buildings, mission bells, and plazas, Laredo has retained much of the feeling of the frontier, and the influence and language of Spain and Mexico are apparent. The city has a diversified economic base, which includes tourism and a considerable exportimport trade; it is the commercial centre for an area of irrigated farms and ranches and of gas and oil industries and has a range of manufactures, including bricks, clothing, and electronic components. Laredo Community College was founded in 1946, and Texas A&M International University in 1970. Inc. 1852. Pop. (1990) city, 122,899; Laredo MSA, 133,239; (1994 est.) city, 149,914; (1995 est.) Laredo MSA, 170,863.