General Terán

History

The first inhabitants of this valley were the Borrados and Rayados, native groups who ranged from present-day Cerralvo to General Terán and left rock paintings at sites such as Loma del Muerto and Monte Huma.

The settlement began as the Hacienda de la Soledad de la Mota, on the north bank of the Pilón River. Other haciendas grew up around it, among them Ojo de Agua, San Rafael del Llano, La Purísima, San Pedro and San Pablo, but La Soledad developed the most. Because of the farming and ranching importance of the Valle de la Mota, it was made a town and free municipality on March 31, 1851, with the name General Terán. The name honors Manuel Mier y Terán, an insurgent who fought for independence alongside Hidalgo and later Morelos.

In the 1920s President Plutarco Elías Calles spent time at his Soledad de la Mota property just north of town. He would travel by train to Montemorelos and continue by car, which is why the road between the two towns became the first paved highway in Nuevo León. General Terán was raised to the rank of city on October 31, 1977, and joined the Pueblos Mágicos program in 2023. Oranges, livestock and dairy remain the base of its economy.