In 1831, Marcelino Lopez of Camargo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, applied for and was awarded a land grant by the Mexican State of Tamaulipas. The settlement of Los Preseņos thus began on the Bank of San Fernando Creek approximately two miles east of present-day Alice. The settlement thrived along a trade route that ran from Corpus Christi to San Diego, Laredo and Eagle Pass. Los Preseņos was officially mapped from 1832 until 1878 as a railroad line was being constructed from Corpus Christi to Laredo, passing through the Los Preseņos Land Grant. N.G. Collins purchased the property from the Lopez family in 1877. He founded the town of Collins which soon replaced Los Preseņos.