Encino, Brooks County
Visible from this site is a small section of roadway that dates from the earliest efforts of the State Highway Program to oversee road construction. In 1918, one year after the establishment of the Texas Highway Department, plans were drawn for the Brooks County segment of what would become U.S. 281. That portion of the road constructed in 1918 was a soft sand thoroughfare terminating at Encino (6.5 mi. S). A caliche surface was applied in 1920, and the concrete paving now in evidence was laid in 1928. The remaining portion of the Falfurrias to Encino Road is a reminder of early road construction methods and transportation networks into the Rio Grande Valley. (2002)