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Rio Grande Valley, Texas
Just to bring you up-to-date on the area
we're in, I'll give you a little historical perspective of the Rio Grande
Valley. It is commonly thought of as Texas' four southernmost counties,
has had a rich and varied history. For 160 years, the Rio Grande, or
"Great River," has acted as an international border and seen its
share of conflict. The last battle of the Civil War was fought a stone's
throw from the river's mouth at Brownsville's Palmito Ranch. As late as
1920, Pancho Villa was antagonizing U.S. troops with border raids.
Let's look at some of the towns that make up the 'Valley' from a historical
perspective as well as how the future looks. Brownsville, McAllen and
Harlingen, are the Valley's three largest cities, in order, are tied together
by U.S. Highway 83 and its parallel railroad system, along which most Valley
towns sprang up around the turn of the century.
Brownsville (pop. 140,000) is a seaport and port of entry from
Matamoros, Mexico. Established as Fort Taylor, after General Zachary
Taylor, the settlement had its name changed to Fort Brown in 1846 after Major
Jacob Brown became the first to die in battle there when he was hit on the leg
by a cannon ball. Brownsville's past has been both colorful and lively
as the city passed from a frontier town to an international center of commerce
without ever losing its sense of tradition or abandoning the charm of its
friendly bicultural heritage. It is the home of the Gladys Porter Zoo
and the Valley Wing of the Confederate Air Force. The former Fort Brown
is now the site of the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost
College. It has a growing industrial area and its seaport, serving South
Texas and Northern Mexico, brings ships from all parts of the world to the tip
of Texas.
McAllen (pop. 107,000) is the upper Valley's largest city, a
financial center with a booming retail industry. The city, founded in
1904, was named for Scottish-born Army Captain John McAllen, a Matamoros
businessman who moved to Hidalgo County after the Civil War and bought 80,000
acres of land there. In addition to its preeminence as a major port of
entry with Mexico, a vital retail and wholesale center and a major health care
center in South Texas, McAllen also boasts an excellent arts and science
museum and a full calendar of cultural events. As a mecca for winter
visitors, the city also has the distinction of being the "Square Dance
Capital of the World."
Harlingen (pop 58,000) lies at a crossroads in the Valley between
U.S. 77 which leads to Corpus Christi and U.S. 83 which follows the Rio Grande
to Laredo and beyond. Harlingen was named for the Holland home of
Colonel Uriah Lott, a founder of the city along with Lon Hill. For
years, Harlingen suffered from such nicknames as "Holland Gin" and
"Howlin' Gin." The Marine Military Academy is located here and
boasts the original Iwo Jima Monument from which the Arlington, Virginia,
statue was cast. The city's excellent medical center and related
facilities off services once found only in the largest metropolitan
areas. It also has the main technical college in the Valley.
Harlingen's revitalized historical area, the Jackson Street District, features
architecture from the 1920s-50s. The palm-lined business district
features quaint restored storefronts, old-fashioned street lamps and sidewalk
benches and masses of colorful flowers. Stores sell antiques, apparel,
collectibles, crafts, country treasures, flowers, furniture, jewelry and works
of art. Like anchor stores in a mall, these three cities have many other
towns which have grown up between and around them, each with its own distinct
personality.
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Northeast of Brownsville is Los Fresnos enroute to the shrimping and
fishing town of Port Isabel. Across the Laguna Madre is the
resort mecca of South Padre Island, which draws thousands of tourists
from across North America each year. It is renowned as a magnet for
"Spring Breakers." Between Brownsville and Harlingen lies
quaint San Benito, once known as "the Resaca City" for its
reservoirs. It was actually named for Ben Hicks, owner of the original
townsite, whose nickname was "Don Benito." Northeast of
Harlingen is quiet Rio Hondo enroute to the Arroyo Colorado, the only
other river in the region. Further north is the ranching and farming
community of Raymondville. The Willacy County seat and gateway to
the Valley on U.S. 77. Due east of Raymondville you will find the angler
paradise of Port Mansfield.
Between McAllen and Harlingen lies Pharr, named for Louisiana sugar
grower H. N. Pharr. The city is home to more than 10,000 Winter Texans
each year and the Pharr/Reynosa International Bridge. San Juan,
named by the wife of John Closner for their San Juan Plantation, is home to
the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan Del Valle National Shrine that yearly
draws Roman Catholic pilgrims to its mystic holdings. Alamo had
several names, including "Ebenezer," before its citizens settled on
the name in 1919. The popular Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge is located south
of Alamo on U.S. 281. Pharr, San Juan and Alamo form a single school
district and are supported largely by agriculture.
Donna was named after Donna Hooks Fletcher, the daughter of one of
10 men who made up the La Blanca Agricultural Company that established the
area's first irrigation system and opened the land for farming. Weslaco,
short for the W. E. Stewart Land Company, is the geographic center of the
Valley and is therefore a center for business throughout the Valley and a
focal point for Valley nature tourism. The town has a population of
27,000 with a market area that encompasses 160,000 mid-Valley residents.
Mercedes sits astride a floodway of the Rio Grande. Location,
location, location is the watchword here as the town's site in the heart of
the Rio Grande Valley and its natural attractions have created a bustling
economy. Mercedes draws over 160,000 visitors each year to its famous
weeklong Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show held every March.
La Feria, "the fair," was reportedly home to indians in
ancient times. This friendly community is supported by the rich land
that surrounds it and produces year-round crops. Edinburg, 10
miles north of McAllen on U.S. 281, is the Hidalgo County seat and home of the
University of Texas-Pan American. It was named (though misspelled) for
the capital of John McAllen's native Scotland. South of McAllen on the
border with Reynosa, Mexico, is the original Edinburg, later renamed
Hidalgo for Father Hidalgo of Mexican Revolution fame. The county
records were transported to present-day Edinburg under cover of
darkness. East of Edinburg on State Highway 107 is another string of
smaller towns that parallel U.S. 83. San Carlos, Elsa, Edcouch, La
Villa and Santa Rosa supply labor for the surrounding sugar cane
industry.
Monte Alto and Hargill in the northern mid-Valley are a
little off the beaten path, but some Winter Texans prefer that. West of
McAllen is Mission, named for La Lomita Mission built in 1865 on the
river south of the city. Mission is the home of the Ruby Red Grapefruit
and is so popular with Winter Texans that its population doubles during the
winter months. La Joya marks a distinct difference in the South
Texas landscape as the terrain grows hillier and rockier through Sullivan
City, on to Rio Grande City, the Starr County seat that grew up
around Fort Ringgold and Roma. Roma, named in 1848 for Major
Roman, a volunteer in the Mexican War, was once the head of a 19th century
steamboat operation. It is a popular day trip for Valley tourists
interested in its historic buildings.
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So you can see that we've spent the last days of winter and the first few
days of spring in a wonderful place. Plenty of fresh vegetables and
fruit. Lot's of history, inexpensive (we don't buy cheap stuff) food and
gasoline. By the way, we bought gas yesterday and paid $1.509 a
gallon. Not too bad compared to some of the prices we've seen on
TV. Now, if we could just bring that price with us as we head
East. We are finishing up our stay and will be underway again
tomorrow. Our next update will be, next month, from Livingston, Texas,
our (on paper) home. I'll leave you with one final picture. This
sign is just before you enter the causeway leaving South Padre Island.
If you look real close you can see that the sign IS flashing.

In case you can't read the sign, it say's, "Watch for
Pelicans when flashing."
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