08/18/2026
DID YOU KNOW? | Before the Bridge
Here is a fascinating piece of local, Fort Hancock specific, history.
Long before the international bridge we know today, people were already crossing the Rio Grande between Fort Hancock and El Porvenir. On Saturdays, beginning in 1924, the crossing would open and U.S. customs and immigration officials would come to Fort Hancock to process those coming across the river.
On June 10, 1932, Congress officially authorized the Fort Hancock-Porvenir Bridge Company to construct and operate a bridge across the Rio Grande at Fort Hancock.
By 1936, things were changing, and federal newsreel cameras were there to capture it. That footage still exists today, with the attention-grabbing original title:
“Fort Hancock, Texas – US-Mexican Border Bridge Pact Dooms Gay Peon Weekends.”
The wording is definitely from another era. In 1936, “gay” meant happy or festive, “peon” was a term then used for Mexican laborers, and “dooms” simply meant the new bridge agreement would bring an end to the old Saturday crossing tradition.
Historical records point to 1936 as the beginning of operations of the international crossing, meaning 2026 may mark its 90th anniversary. Research continues into the exact official opening date.
🎥 Take a few minutes and watch a little piece of Hudspeth County history and please share. The footage is pretty dad-gone fascinating.
An early documentation of border regulation between the U.S. and Mexico
