Mercedes, Hidalgo County
The town of Mercedes was platted by the Capisallo Town and Improvement Company in 1907. The Oblate Provincial Council in Austin requested that the company provide a site for a Catholic church, and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church was dedicated in February 1909. In December of that year, Carmen Nava Garza was the first to be interred on this site in a marked grave. The Capisallo Company gave four acres including this site to the Brownsville Diocese in 1910, and the cemetery was named for the parish church. Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery served those who were not buried on private ranches outside Mercedes. With more than 2,341 marked and 56 unmarked sites, the cemetery continues to serve Mercedes. (2000)