Texas Historical Marker #02408
Havana. Located on land known as Porcion 46, ceded by the crown of Spain to Don Jose Matias Tijerina in 1767, the community of Havana was named for Havana, Cuba, where Tijerina had stopped on his journey from Europe. Among the early settlers here were the families of Josefa de la Garza Salinas and Civil War Union soldier Patricio Perez. A frame church was built in 1891 and named for St. Joseph. Descendants of early settlers still live in the area. Many Havana pioneers are buried here in the Havana Cemetery. (1988) #2408
?, La Joya, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03571
Nellie Leo Schunior School. This school's roots lie in the former town of Havana (2 miles south), where between 1890 and 1944 area children, most of whom lived on nearby ranches, attended classes in a one-room school house. Nellie Leo Schunior (1878-1920), who later became the first superintendent of Chapin (now Edinburg) schools, taught in Havana from 1913 until 1916. Several years after her death, persistent flooding of the Rio Grande caused Havana residents to relocate their town to this area. They renamed the town La Joya, and built a new school in 1926 which they named in Schunior's honor. (1992) #3571
?, La Joya, TX, United States