Torreon is situated in the valley La Laguna, and forms part of a metropolitan precinct with Gomez Palacio and Ciudad Lerdo, both in Durango. Torreon was established as a railway town in 1887, mainly because of its strategic position.
Torreon was the stage for Pancho Villa's first big victory in 1910 during the Mexican Revolution, which gave control of the railways that radiate from the city. Three more battles were fought for control of Torreon in the years that followed, with 200 Chinese immigrants (commonly used for railroad construction at the time as virtual slave labour) slaughtered by Villa's troops in a wave of nationalist zeal.
Torreon is situated in the valley La Laguna, and forms part of a metropolitan precinct with Gomez Palacio and Ciudad Lerdo, both in Durango. Torreon was established as a railway town in 1887, mainly because of its strategic position.