Hidalgo County, Texas
Weslaco is home to 18 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.
Unique and colorful product of saline-alkaline soil of Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Bred of Thompson Pink Wood budded on Sour Orange rootstock. Two nurserymen, A. E. Henninger of Mission and Dr. J. R. Webb of Donna,…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗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.…
View on map ↗Occupied in 1916-17 by Indiana, Nebraska, Minnesota and North Dakota National Guard units, Camp Llano Grande was one of a line of encampments established along the Rio Grande in response to Mexican bandit raids into the…
View on map ↗"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…
View on map ↗Prominent Weslaco bankers and citrus farmers C. Lester (1896-1966) and Florence Richardson Skaggs (1884-1983) bought 15 acres here in 1924. This Spanish Colonial Revival style residence, built in 1927, was designed for…
View on map ↗When the Weslaco Townsite Company platted the new town in 1919, it offered city lots to representatives of Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist and Christian denominations. They held services in a community house, with each…
View on map ↗The citrus industry was an integral part of the Rio Grande Valley economy in the 20th century. Grove development burgeoned in the 1920s and 1930s, but production outpaced early marketing capabilities; in 1932, 17 citrus…
View on map ↗Three years after Edwin C. Couch and Robert Reeves founded the city of Weslaco in 1919, Couch deeded this block as a city park. In 1928, city officials hired architect Paul G. Silber and his San Antonio Argentum…
View on map ↗Visiting Evangelists from the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board encouraged area Baptists to organize a church in 1921, just two years after Weslaco was established. The congregation first met in the Stephen F. Austin…
View on map ↗In 1921, Saint Joan of Arc Catholic Church was established as a mission parish of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Mercedes, which had previously ministered to area Catholics. The church became a full parish in 1929. From…
View on map ↗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…
View on map ↗In 1920, area Presbyterians built a manse under the supervision of the Rev. Horace N. Cunningham; services were held in the building. In January 1921, seven charter members organized First Presbyterian Church. They…
View on map ↗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.…
View on map ↗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.…
View on map ↗During World War II, U.S. forces captured the small yet strategic Japanese-held Pacific Island of Iwo Jima. On Feb. 23, 1945, during combat, marine Harlon Block aided in laying telephone wire up an inert volcano. At the…
View on map ↗IN FEB. 1921, WITH HELP FROM REV. O. C. CROW, METHODISTS IN AND AROUND WESLACO BEGAN ORGANIZING INTO A SEPARATE CONGREGATION. ON OCT. 16, 1921, 35 METHODISTS MET TO ORGANIZE THEIR NEW CHURCH AND IN NOVEMBER COMPLETED A…
View on map ↗RoadHistorical maps all 15,000+ Texas historical markers and alerts you as you pass them. Free to download.
Keep exploring