LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) - As America prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence, we look at how Laredo has contributed to the nation’s history.

When we think about independence, we often picture the year 1776, when a group of colonists broke away from a distant king to form a new nation.

However, in the mid-1800s, a similar struggle for self-rule occurred. This struggle granted Laredo a unique distinction: it is the only city in Texas that has had seven flags, rather than six, flying over its history.

In downtown Laredo, directly across from the historic San Agustin Plaza, stands a building that once served as the capital of a newly formed country. Eduardo Garcia, a local tour guide for this historic site, which now operates as a museum, tells us that the date was January 17, 1840.

He

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