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WESLACO,
TEXAS
Hidalgo County,
South Texas
State Hwy 83 & FM 88
15 miles East of McAllen
15 miles West of Harlingen
7 miles SE to Nuevo Progresso, Mexico
Population: 26,935 (2000)
Home to an estimated 6,000 Winter Texans
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Street
Scene, Weslaco, Texas 1926
Photo courtesy of Weslaco Museum |
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History in
a Pecan Shell:
The Spanish Land Grant refers to the area as Llano Grande
and date back to 1747. Over the years the huge tract was broken
down into smaller parcels.
In 1904, Lon
C. Hill, founder of Harlingen
and Uriah Lott, brought the railroad through the underpopulated
area which was primarily ranchland at this time .
Camp Llano
Grande was set up as part of a huge military buildup by the
Army to secure the U.S. Border during the turmoil in Mexico and
occasional forays into Texas by Mexican banditti. The
camp provided training for troops that would later be sent to France
in WW I.
W. E. Stewart was a land developer from Kansas City who named the
town after his W.E. Stewart Land Co. The first lots of Stewart's
30,000 acres went up for sale on December 10th 1919, but nobody
felt like pouring foundations over the holidays, so 1920 was the
year things really got started.
The post-war
optimism brought an influx of eager pioneers. Weslaco had been relying
on its neighbors of Mercedes and Donna
for mail delivery and electricity until they got their own power
plant and post office.
1920 also gave Weslaco a posting of Texas Rangers. 1924 brought
a fire, while 1927 brought a permanent depot. In 1928 the beautifully
detailed City Hall was built and the Cortez Hotel opened
its doors on the last day of the year with a New Year's Eve Ball.
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Weslaco
City Hall / Fire Department / Jail 1928
R. Newell Waters - Architect
Photo Courtesy of Weslaco Museum |
For
more views of this building and others, see
Weslaco Places
It was a decade of accomplishments and by 1929 they had a lot to show
for their 10th anniversary.
During prohibition there was a lot of traffic on the bridge
to go have a legal drink in Mexico and watch the dog races. Al Capone
was said to have spent some time here looking after his interests
(which had nothing to do with citrus). |
Before
"Main Street Cities" there was Texas Avenue.
From the historic photograph collection of Weslaco Museum |
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The people of
Weslaco came up with an idea to brighten the gloom of the Great
Depression in 1936 by lighting two blocks of Texas Boulevard
downtown with neon.
Weslaco suffered the natural calamities of flood and hurricane,
fire and freeze.
In 1933, forty people were killed in what Floridians refer to as
The Labor Day Hurricane and the suspension bridge at Hidalgo fell
into the Rio Grande. The bridge at the Mercedes-Rio Rico crossing
collapsed in 1941.
A severe freeze in 1951 killed an estimated 12 million grapefruit
trees.
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the historic photograph collection of Weslaco Museum |
Street
Name Trivia by Joe Foster
A set of avenues in Weslaco were named for mostly NORTHERN states
on the north or both sides of town, and a few southern states on the
southern side. more |
Weslaco
Area Attractions:
The Weslaco
Museum: 515 Kansas Avenue
The
Harlon Block Memorial: 1100 Vo-Tech Drive (The Texas National
Guard Armory) Monument to a local youth who became one of the Marines
who raised the flag at Iwo Jima.
Valley
Nature Center: 301 S. Border at Gibson Park.
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 9 to 1
Nature trail and exhibit hall of local flora including a lily pond
and cactus garden. 956-969-2475
Weslaco
Hotels > Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
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Weslaco Tourist
Information
Weslaco
Chamber of Commerce: 1710 E. Pike Blvd. 956-968-2102
Website: www.weslaco.com
Rio Grande
Valley Tourist Information Center:
US HWY 83 & FM 1015 Mon through Fri 8:30 to 5.
Weslaco
Hotels > Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
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Weslaco's
unique story has a book of its own.
Authors:
Karen Gerhardt and Blanca E. Tamez
Order here > |
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Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
Weslaco
Hotels
More
Hotels
Weslaco
Texas Forum
Anyone
wishing to share history or photos of Weslaco, Texas, please contact
us.
© John Troesser
Photos are provided by the Weslaco Museum and the Hidalgo County Historical
Museum.
First published December, 2000 |
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