Hidalgo County, located in the heart of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, is a contentious land of impossible contrasts: tropical sunsets and swaying palm trees, rare birds and javelina, cactus and mesquite, soft breezes and broiling sunshine-and hurricanes. Spanish colonists settled here in 1749, receiving huge land grants in exchange for their labor and their loneliness. One hundred years later, a Scotsman named McAllen came to work in a riverfront store, and stayed to found a dynasty. Between 1900 and 1940, more immigrants arrived to build railroads and towns, turn brush land into farmland, and create a unique cultural environment. Hidalgo County illustrates the rapid development of this environmental and cultural crossroads at the beginning of the 20th century. River boats and oxcarts gave way to railroads and the Model T. Tent cities became thriving towns with business districts, homes, schools, churches, and agricultural industries. The changes experienced-and created-by the hardy pioneers who struggled to survive are chronicled here. The courage, stamina, and optimism of these brave souls inspire us a century later in Hidalgo County.
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About the Author
Historian Karen Gerhardt, museum coordinator for the Weslaco Bicultural Museum, brings us these fascinating images and stories, as she did in her book Weslaco, Texas, co-authored with Blanca Tamez and published by Arcadia in 1999. Joining Karen for Hidalgo County is Rod Santa Ana III, journalist and communications specialist for Texas A&M University, well-known radio and television personality, and host of his own syndicated cooking program for public television.
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In the mid-1500s, the first Europeans who came to the area now known as south Texas and northeast Mexico in search of gold and a water route to the riches of the Orient were repelled by the environment, and by the Native American tribes who had occupied the land for thousands of years. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
irrigation company, pump houses Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Rio Grande, Hidalgo County, Llano Grande, Courtesy of Weslaco Bicultural Museum, San Juan, Cayetano Barrera, Courtesy of Texas, World War, San Antonio, John Closner, Corpus Christi, Townsite Company, United States, Mexico Railway, Red Cross, Rio Rico, Sam Fordyce, State of Texas, Cayetanu Barrera, Courtesy of Robert Norton, Substation Number, Toluca Ranch, Courtesy of David Joaquin Mora, King Ranch, Mexico City New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the mid-1500s, the first Europeans who came to the area now known as south Texas and northeast Mexico in search of gold and a water route to the riches of the Orient were repelled by the environment, and by the Native American tribes who had occupied the land for thousands of years. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
irrigation company, pump houses Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Rio Grande, Hidalgo County, Llano Grande, Courtesy of Weslaco Bicultural Museum, San Juan, Cayetano Barrera, Courtesy of Texas, World War, San Antonio, John Closner, Corpus Christi, Townsite Company, United States, Mexico Railway, Red Cross, Rio Rico, Sam Fordyce, State of Texas, Cayetanu Barrera, Courtesy of Robert Norton, Substation Number, Toluca Ranch, Courtesy of David Joaquin Mora, King Ranch, Mexico City New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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