Aguilares dates to 1870. It is named for the first settlers and ranchers, José, Locario, Francisco, Próspero, and Librado Aguilar. It became a stop on the Texas-Mexican Railroad in 1881 and was granted a post office nine years later. The population (thought to be a huge exaggeration) was given as 1,500 in 1910 – but four years later it was reportedly a mere 300. The Aguilar family owned a store – one of the two businesses in the community.
Oil was discovered nearby in Oilton and for a short time the town seemed to have a future – but although (or because) it was on a railroad – it lost population to the nearby county seat of Laredo. In the 1930s, the post office was discontinued and in 1939 Aquilares' population was ten. The population rose to twenty-five by 1945, but the 1990 census again reported ten residents.
Aguilares CDP, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
