Puente Internacional Lerdo Stanton Live Cam

Historical Roots of the Lerdo–Stanton Crossing

Long before steel girders and concrete decks spanned the Río Bravo, the area where the modern Puente Internacional Lerdo–Stanton now stands was a series of shallow fords and seasonal ferries. Indigenous groups—primarily the Piro and Mescalero Apache—followed game trails that converged near what is today downtown Ciudad Juárez and El Paso. During spring runoff, families would guide goats and pack mules through low-lying riverbeds, timing their crossings when the water depth fell below knee level. With the arrival of Spanish missionaries in the late 17th century, these informal fords became waystations on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, linking the remote northern frontier to the heart of New Spain. Early colonial maps denote a location called “El Paso de los Toros,” marking a stretch of river where wild cattle were commonly herded across, a phenomenon that would eventually lend the area its enduring name: El Paso del Norte.