Hidalgo County, Texas
Pharr is home to 14 official Texas Historical Commission markers — each one telling a piece of the city’s story. Browse the markers below, then find them on the map and discover more nearby with RoadHistorical.
This Mission style building was the first meeting place in the Kiwanis International organization owned by a local club. It was built in 1928, 13 years after the formation of the first Kiwanis club in Detroit, Michigan,…
View on map ↗This fellowship was founded in 1874 by the Rev. Alexander H. Sutherland (1848-1911), an early Methodist missionary, on Juan Manuel de La Vina's El Capote Ranch. In 1883 the congregation began meeting near this site on…
View on map ↗This structure was completed in 1911 by the Pharr Townsite Co., operated by John C. Kelly (1862-1937), a co-founder of Pharr. It housed the first bank, the post office, a confectionary, a drugstore, and the first…
View on map ↗Erected in 1911 as a one-story structure, this building housed the first school in Pharr. John Bales, the contractor, built a number of the town's early structures. Classes were held here until 1915, when enrollment had…
View on map ↗The common school district of Pharr and San Juan began construction of this school in 1915. First used for the 1916-1917 school year, its enrollment was 143, with twelve teachers and a graduating class of nine. The name…
View on map ↗Constructed in 1927-28 to serve Mexican-American children in the Pharr-San Juan school district, this school replaced an earlier facility at this site. The new school was named in honor of educator Helen W. Buell…
View on map ↗Wisconsin native John Closner established the first steam-powered irrigation system in the lower Rio Grande Valley in 1895. Closner successfully grew sugar cane and entered a sample for judging at the St. Louis World's…
View on map ↗This church was established by seven charter members in 1913. The Rev. A. J. Seale served as first pastor. Early worship services were held in a school building until 1916 when a sanctuary was built on land set aside by…
View on map ↗For many centuries, nomadic Coahuiltecans lived in the Lower Rio Grande area. In the 1500s, Spanish explorers came through the region, and the Spanish government began to colonize both sides of the river by the late…
View on map ↗In 1857, Nathaniel Jackson came from Alabama and established a ranch in this area. A former slave owner, Jackson, who was white, came with his wife Matilda Hicks, who was black, their children and his freed slaves. On…
View on map ↗In July 1916, the same year voters incorporated the city of Pharr, a large fire laid waste to an entire downtown city block. As a result of the blaze, the community lost Pharr Lumber Co., Pharr Mercantile Co., Folsum…
View on map ↗This cemetery, named for Mexico's patron saint, Our Lady of Guadalupe, was established in 1913 as a public burial ground for residents of the Pharr community. The Pharr townsite was laid out in 1909, and though ranch…
View on map ↗THIS CHURCH, ORGANIZED IN 1913, IS THE SECOND OLDEST IN THE CITY AND THE FIRST TO MINISTER TO PHARR’S SPANISH-SPEAKING PROTESTANTS. AFTER A GROUP APPROACHED THE ANGLO METHODIST CHURCH WITH A DESIRE FOR THEIR OWN PLACE…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗RoadHistorical maps all 15,000+ Texas historical markers and alerts you as you pass them. Free to download.
Keep exploring