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.
Significance in brief: The chapel, farmland and novitiate together show the growth of the Catholic church in the lower Rio Grande Valley and the role of the Oblate Fathers in settling the southern tip of Texas. The mission helped bring the first settlers to the area, and the town of Mission took its name from it. The district was nominated as a whole because the buildings' significance is tied to the land and its rural 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) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 75002165, listed May 28, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 5 mi. S of Mission on FM 1016, Mission |
|---|---|
| County | Hidalgo County |
| Listed | May 28, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75002165 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1899 and 1912 |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival (St. Peter's Novitiate); simple stuccoed stone chapel |
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Chapel is open and used for worship and retreat, and the novitiate is leased for a mental health and mental retardation training center with a planned art museum; the form marks the property as occupied. |
| Acreage | 122 |
| Coordinates | 26.15391, -98.32801 (NPS GIS) |
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.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 75002165.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q106327862
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.