Guerrero Viejo, near Mier (Tamaulipas)

Archaeological site 42 km northwest of Mier

A colonial river town drowned by the Falcón dam in 1953 and re-emerged as a ghost town of sandstone ruins and a restored church.

Guerrero Viejo is what remains of Ciudad Guerrero, one of the colonial towns that José de Escandón founded along the Río Bravo in the mid-1700s. Settlers from Nuevo León arrived in 1750, the town was first called Revilla, and in 1827 it was renamed in honor of Vicente Guerrero. It became a prosperous ranching and trading hub, with houses and public buildings of a fine local sandstone.

In the 1940s Mexico and the United States agreed to dam the river, and in 1953, the year the Falcón dam was inaugurated, the town was evacuated and its people moved to the new Nueva Ciudad Guerrero. The water rose over the plaza, the market and the church. Decades later, as the reservoir dropped in the 1990s, the bell tower reappeared, and by the early 2000s the whole town stood on dry land again.

Today it is a silent ghost town in the brush. Former residents and their descendants restored the church of Nuestra Señora del Refugio, where a line on the facade marks where the water once stood. Around it you can walk cobbled streets past the arcades of the old market, a two-story hotel, a schoolhouse and the flagstones of the plaza.

What to see and do

Step inside the restored church of Nuestra Señora del Refugio and find the old water line on its facade.
Walk the cobbled streets to the arcades of the colonial market and the stone plaza.
Look at how the local sandstone has survived decades under water.
In Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, ask the town archive or museum about photos of the town before the flood.

Getting there

From Mier, take Federal Highway 2 north to Nueva Ciudad Guerrero, about 20 minutes, then continue on the rural highway toward Nuevo Laredo for roughly half an hour until an INAH sign marks the turn onto a dirt road; the last stretch takes about 45 minutes and is best done in a high-clearance or four-wheel-drive vehicle. Allow two hours or more each way from Mier. This border region has had serious security problems: check the current situation, travel in daylight, and ideally go with local guides or with the help of the Nueva Ciudad Guerrero municipal office. Parts of the town can flood again when the reservoir is high.

42 km northwest of Mier

Directions from Mier on Google Maps

Distances are in a straight line; the road is usually longer.