Tula

Tula stands on the dry uplands west of the Sierra Madre Oriental, in a valley of northeastern Mexico. Indigenous peoples inhabited the surrounding mountain and plateau country before Spanish missionaries arrived. Its position linked the inland settlements of Río Verde and Valle del Maíz with the valleys farther east.

In 1617 the Franciscan Juan Bautista de Mollinedo established the mission of San Antonio de Tula. He and Juan de Cárdenas had travelled through the region to preach among Indigenous communities, establishing missions at several places along their route. A simple church marked the new mission, which grew into a town over the following generations. Tula became one of the oldest enduring colonial settlements in the area later called Tamaulipas. The mission was dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua.