This “bird’s eye” or panoramic map of Laredo was drawn by Henry Wellge in 1892 and produced as a promotional piece for the Laredo Real Estate and Abstract Co. Laredo is depicted from a southeasterly perspective from across the Rio Grande as if the viewer were just inside Mexico and represents a city in the midst of spectacular population growth. Cited on the map itself are population figures noting Laredo’s population as 1,500 in 1880 and 12,000 by March of 1890. It was the development and growth of the railroads in Texas and the linking up of other population centers to Laredo that primarily drove Laredo’s growth during this timeframe.

Wellge also chose to feature Laredo’s role in the coal industry by showing coal mines on the horizon with barges transporting coal from these mines, down the Rio Grande, through Laredo. Also prominently featured are Fort McIntosh and the first International Bridge linking Texas with Mexico.