Texas Historical Marker #01389
Edinburg Junior College Auditorium. Designed by the Austin architectural firm Giesecke and Harris, this structure was built in 1926 to serve the newly-created Edinburg Junior College. In addition to serving the college and succeeding educational institutions, the auditorium has also been used by the city as a cultural center. The Gothic revival style building features ogee-arched windows and ornamental stonework. It is a fine example of early 20th century educational buildings. #1389
N Seventh and McEntyre, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04987
Southern Pacific Depot. Completed and occupied on August 1, 1927, this depot was designed by Southern Pacific Railroad architect Leonard B. McCoy, and built by Ward Construction of El Paso. The depot was part of a major railroad expansion into South Texas. Edinburg felt a positive economic impact when the railroad began shipping citrus and vegetables and serving passengers' needs. Passenger service ceased in 1952, although freight service continued until 1982. The train depot is a fine example of Spanish colonial revival architecture. Features include double entries, tile detailing and built in benches. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1996 #4987
602 University, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02468
Hidalgo County. Formed from Starr and Cameron counties. Created January 24, 1842. Organized April 7, 1854. Named in Honor of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla -- 1753-1811 Mexican Patriot County Seat, 1852, Edinburgh, name changed February 7, 1861, to Hidalgo. Moved to present site, then called Chapin, October 12, 1908. Name changed to Edinburg, February 3, 1911. #2468
?, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04259
Richard Alvis Marsh. Kentucky native Richard A. Marsh had a notable military and journalism career before distinguishing himself as an educator in the Rio Grande Valley. He arrived in San Antonio in 1874 then left for Fort Ringgold (Rio Grande City) in 1880 to teach the fort's children. Disheartened by the particularly substandard educational facilities available to children of Mexican descent, Marsh devoted the rest of his life, first as a traveling teacher for area ranch schools and later as Hidalgo County Superintendent of Schools (1902-1914), to significantly upgrade the area's public school system. (1993) #4259
?, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #05675
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. As an Hidalgo County Commissioner from 1909 until 1925, a prominent businessman, and an active Mason, Lipscomb provided significant service and leadership to the community. (1983) #5675
?, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #01514
Everitt Building. One of the earliest commercial ventures in Edinburg, this building was completed in 1910 by John Closner (1853-1932), a founder of the townsite. Its first tenant was the Rev. W. O. Miller, who operated a hardware and machinery store. During World War I, it was used as a Red Cross workshop. In 1920 the property was acquired by E. M. Everitt, who used the building primarily as a grocery store. Among the building's numerous other tenants were the Masonic Lodge and the Golden Jersey Creamery. An Edinburg landmark, the structure stands as part of the city's early economic history. (1983) #1514
?, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02773
John Closner Home. Built 1887, enlarged 1888. Social center. Had county's only piano. While pioneering in farming and irrigation, Closner also brought law and order to the outlaw-plagued county. After 1884-1890 service as deputy, was elected sheriff in 1890-- the ninth in 7 years. Without using six-gun or killing a man, tamed gangs of rustlers and bandits. When he retired in 1912, he had enforced six-shooter law (no guns worn)-- a border first. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1966 #2773
?, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03746
Old Hidalgo County Jail. Erected 1909-1910. One of first buildings in town after county seat moved here 1908 from Old Hidalgo. Spanish architecture, with red tile roof, white walls. A new jail was built in 1922; this became community center, and served as a meeting place for civic groups until 1931; then was city hall until 1966. Now the Hidalgo County Museum, its tower houses a hanging trap actually used only once, in 1913. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966 #3746
121 E McIntyre, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #01442
El Sal del Rey, C.S.A.. Front side: Large salt lake located 26 miles northeast was principal source of salt in South Texas during the Civil War. Put under state guard and agent 1862. Salt sold to families, Texas Military Board, Army of Confederacy and wagons returning north on cotton road-vital trade route for South thru Mexico. Due to military and domestic importance, Union forces periodically wrecked the salt works from November 1863 until war's end. It was also a Texas Confederate base for the 1864 recapture of Brownsville. A memorial to Texas who served the Confederacy; erected by the State of Texas 1963. Back side: Salting or smoking were only was to preserve meat at time of Civil War. When South levied a meat tithe, salt necessary to cure bacon and beef for military. Salt was a must for horses and mules used by cavalry, artillery and supply wagons. Hides were preserved with it to make leather for shoes and harness. Other wartime salt works were operated along coast and in 7 counties in central, east and west Texas. El Sal del Rey, Spanish for "Salt for the King" also played a significant role in the history of Texas mineral law. A legal controversy raged for years over its ownership. Under Spain, mineral rights belonged to crown. Mexico retained the principle of the state ownership of minerals. Texas, as Republic and State, kept minerals in the public domain. Private possession of the lake began with the 1866 Texas Constitutional Convention which relinquished all minerals to landowners. The principle of private ownership was readopted in the Constitutions of 1869 and 1876. #1442
?, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #00546
Brushwood Cemetery. Brushwood Cemetery was established as a municipal burial ground for the town of Chapin (now Edinburg) in 1913, five years after the town's founding. The earliest known burial here was that of Antonia Hernandez de Ramos, who died in 1913. Older graves dating to 1898 were relocated here from El Granjeno Cemetery near the town of Mission. More than 1,000 graves are located here. Tombstones bear Anglo, Spanish, German, and Irish surnames and document the diversity of peoples that helped build Edinburg and other communities in the vicinity. #546
?, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03010
Laguna Seca Ranch. Macedonio Vela settled here in 1867 and soon transformed over 4,000 acres of wild brush land into prosperous Laguna Seca (Dry Lake) Ranch. In 1871, his daughter, Carlota, grew the first orange trees in Hidalgo County from the seeds of a fruit given her by a traveling priest. This is now an important-citrus-producing area. The ranch had grown to 80,000 acres when a school was built here in 1892. Delfina Post Office, named for another one of Vela's daughters, was opened in 1893 and a Catholic church in 1894. Laguna Seca Ranch is still owned by the Vela family. (1975) #3010
?, Edinburg, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03910
Padre Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (1753-1811), for whom the county of Hidalgo is named, was born near Guanajuato, Mexico, while the country was still under Spanish rule. After being ordained a priest in 1779, he served churches in Colima, San Felipe, and Dolores, where he emerged as a champion of human rights who feared the colonial system would never allow independence and justice for all citizens. A firm believer in economic independence from the mother country, Hidalgo worked toward that goal by teaching farming methods and industrial techniques to Indians and others in his parish. In 1810 Padre Hidalgo, along with military leader Ignacio de Allende, conspired to overthrow the Royalist government. Warned that officials suspected their plot, Hidlago gathered sympathizers in Dolores. Following early mass on the morning of September 16, 1810, Hidalgo made his famous "Grito De Delores," a call to arms which in effect began the revolt that led to Mexican independence from Spain in 1821. During a battle on the bridge of Calderon, Padre Hidalgo was captured and later was unfrocked and shot. Considered "The Father of Mexican Independence," Padre Hidalgo continues to be honored for his leadership throughout Mexico and the Southwest. (1983) #3910
?, Edinburg, TX, United States