Called "The Pearl of the Desert", Ojinaga, Chihuahua was settled by Pueblo Indians, probably relatives of the Anasazi and perhaps speakers of an Otomi-Manganan dialect, around the year 1200 AD, and has been continuously inhabited since that period. The earliest tribes in the region were later assimilated by Uto-Aztecan speakers, mainly Julimes and Jumanos, who resided in and around Ojinaga during the first arrival of the Spanish in 1535. These first Spaniards were the legendary Cabeza de Vaca and his small group of stragglers, survivors of a shipwreck off the coast of Florida, who wandered across Texas for some seven years before arriving at the Rio Grande and crossing into what is now Mexico at Junta de los Rios, the former name of Ojinaga. At the behest of Cabeza de Vaca, an expedition led by Franciscan friars arrived in Ojinaga some years later with the object of baptizing the Indians here, before pressing on to New Mexico, where they searched for the fabled  Seven Cities of Gold.

above and below - original paintings by artist Feather Radha of Lajitas, Texas. See Feather's work at Fausto's Art Gallery in Ojinaga

The first attempt at establishing a permanent settlement in Ojinaga was undertaken by Sergeant Major Antonio Trasviña y Retes in 1715, who came here to rebuild a mission which had previously been burned by hostile Indians. The historic church downtown, and the old military installation, the Guarnición de la Plaza, were built in 1760, as part of an attempt by the Spanish authorities to extend a line of fortifications along the Rio Grande. Ojinaga achieved some importance during a brief period in the late 1840's and 1850's as a trading post along the old Chihuahua Trail, which was later eclipsed in importance by the building of a railroad which ran through El Paso, Texas, and allowed the Mexicans to then build their own railroad south to Mexico City, bypassing Ojinaga altogether.

Tarahumara Indian Woman and Child

During the Mexican Revolution of 1910 to 1917, Ojinaga was headquarters to several different generals, including Pancho Villa, who took the city on two separate occasions. The most famous stay by Villa was following the Battle of Ojinaga in January of 1914, when he ran the last of the major federales armies out of Mexico.

Pancho Villa on his horse "Siete Leguas" after the Battle of Ojinaga in 1914

For more detailed treatment of Ojinaga's rich history, check out these links:

• Pancho Villa - the most detailed Pancho Villa website - and the most interesting - on the Internet. Has a huge collection of really interesting photos!
• Cabeza de Vaca - his entire account of his voyage across the new world - including his historic stop in Ojinaga
• The Battle of Ojinaga - as told by Pancho Villa himself!
• A very detailed history of Ojinaga from the first Indian settlements up until the end of the Mexican Revolution
• The first Battle of Ojinaga 1910-1911
• Historical articles by Glenn P. Willeford: "Glenn Willeford is a writer and historian who lives at Cd. Chihuahua, Mexico."

The Apache chief Victorio was killed in a campaign by Mexican militia near Ojinaga