Industry & Science
The Hidalgo County Bank and Trust Company
The oldest Hidalgo County bank still in operation, this institution opened in 1907 in a frame house on Third Street. Incorporators of the firm were area leaders J. M. Johnson, Sr., who served as the first president, his son J. M. Johnson, Jr., William M. Price and S. P. Silver, all of Mercedes; John Closner of Hidalgo; and Walter A. McNeil of Santa Maria.
History
The Pharr Riot
On Feb. 6, 1971, a small group gathered outside the Pharr Police Department to protest incidents of discrimination and brutality. The crowd grew to hundreds and the day turned violent as tensions with law enforcement escalated. During the chaos that became known as The Pharr Riot, a law enforcement officer shot and killed bystander Alfonso Loredo Flores.
History
The Rev. Pierre Yves Keralum
"The Lost Missionary" (1817-1872) Architect Pierre Yves Keralum was ordained an Oblate priest at Marseilles, France, in 1852. That same year, he came to south Texas as a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.). Evidence of his architectural skill can be seen at Our Lady of Refuge Church in Roma and the Cathedral in Brownsville.
History
Thomas Walter Jones
(c. 1827 - 1853) The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican War in 1848 and designated the main channel of the Rio Grande as the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico. Major William Emory led the border survey (1849-53). Young Washington D.C. surveyor Thomas W. Jones joined Emory's survey effort at El Paso in 1850.
History
Tom Mayfield
(June 16, 1880 - November 26, 1966) Tom Mayfield left the Gonzales County farm of his parents, John and Maggie Mayfield, in 1898 to help buy horses for Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. Between 1910-1921 Tom served as Pharr city marshal, Texas Ranger, and Hidalgo County deputy sheriff.
History
Town of Hidalgo
County seat of Hidalgo County 1852-1908 * Known as Edinburgh in 1852 * * Name changed in 1861 to Hidalgo in honor of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, 1753-1811, parish priest who led the movement in 1810 for Mexican independence * * Almost completely washed away by an overflow of the Rio Grande in September, 1887. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Vela Building
In 1904 Crisoforo Vela and his wife, Florinda (de la Vega Balli), moved to Hidalgo from Santo Domingo Ranch in Starr County. Six years later Vela acquired the ferry and rowboat service that connected Hidalgo with Reynosa, Mexico. This was an important commercial route in the early development of the Rio Grande Valley.
History
W. L. Lipscomb
About 1880, South Carolina native William Lawton Lipscomb (1874-1941) came to Texas with his family. In 1894 he settled in Hidalgo County, where he managed a sugar plantation. Later he and his wife, Ada (Dougherty) (1877-1959), moved to Edinburg and established one of the city's first general mercantile stores. Lipscomb moved his business to this building after it was completed in 1910.
History
Weslaco
Located on part of a Spanish land grant known as Llano Grande, Weslaco was founded in 1919 by a partnership composed of R. C., Dan, and Ed Couch and Robert L. Reeves. The city's name is take from the initials of the W. E. Stewart Land Co., which held title to the site from 1917 to 1919. Weslaco had a post office by 1920 and was incorporated in 1921.
History
Weslaco City Cemetery
The City of Weslaco, named for the W.E. Stewart Land Company, was founded in December 1919. In 1921, the city established a cemetery here, outside the original townsite. The first grave is that of Reuben W. Warren (d. 1921). Also buried here are Weslaco city founders Edmond Cooper Couch (1876-1944) and Robert Lee Reeves (1871-1938). H.E.
Architecture
Weslaco City Hall
Erected in 1928, this structure replaced a frame community building at this site. City founder Ed Couch (1879-1944) and Mayor David E. Kirgan (1877-1936) led ceremonies marking the building's completion. Prominent Weslaco architect R. Newell Waters designed the city hall with Spanish Colonial style detailing. Intricate cast stone sculpture adorns the entryway and cupola.
History
Weslaco High School
Weslaco Independent School District formed in 1921, when residents petitioned the Texas Legislature to separate from Donna ISD. Upon the district's creation, board members planned for the first school building, designed by San Antonio architect Harvey P. Smith and completed by Brownsville's H.L. Fitch and Co. by Feb. 1923.
History
Weslaco Water Tower
This ground level water storage reservoir was constructed in 1928, nine years after Weslaco was founded. Built through the efforts of mayor David E. Kirgan and city water commissioner William Detlef, it was a symbol of Kirgan's municipal reforms. The facility was used until 1938 when work was begun on the adjacent overhead tank.
Elsewhere in Texas
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