During the Great Depression, displaced Midwesterners came to Weslaco and established Hooverville shantytowns. Hoping to improve their living conditions, in 1934, the Weslaco Lions Club worked to establish a park. William Henry Hoge and J.J. Gibson, for whom the park would be named, donated acreage. Weslaco's first municipal trailer park opened in 1936 as a tourist destination for campers and for those living in trailers. It closed as a trailer camp in 1946, later developing into a neighborhood park. Weslaco's ecotourism industry also developed as the city opened the Valley Nature Center on the park's eastern portion. Recreationally and commercially, Gibson Park remains a vital landmark in Weslaco. (2010)
Getting there
26.1585, -97.9984
Locations are approximate and may be inaccurate, on private land, or otherwise inaccessible. Check before you travel.
Hear it from the road
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