La Lomita Historic District
Why it's listed
La Lomita Historic District covers 122 acres near the Rio Grande in Hidalgo County, Texas, built around the only hill in the area, which gave the place its name, "little hill." The district includes a small stuccoed stone chapel from 1899, which replaced an 1865 adobe chapel destroyed by floods, and the two-story brick St. Peter's Novitiate of 1912, designed with Mission style features. The land was part of a Spanish-era porcion that passed to the Oblate Fathers in 1871 under the will of Rene Guyard. The mission drew settlers, and when the railroad arrived in 1904 the village moved north and the new town took the name Mission. The novitiate trained student priests until the late 1950s. It was later leased for vocational training for people with mental disabilities, with new compatible buildings added nearby. The district was drawn to keep the chapel, novitiate and farmland together as one setting.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | 1899 and 1912 |
|---|---|
| Styles | Mission Revival (St. Peter's Novitiate); simple stuccoed stone chapel |
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture, Religion |
| Acreage | 122 |
| Boundary source | NPS cultural-resource GIS polygon |
| Full listing page | La Lomita Historic District (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.