Texas Historical Marker #12951
Harlingen Army Airfield and Harlingen Air Force Base. With the depressed economy of the 1930s, Harlingen leaders sought to attract federal funds to the area. In May 1941, in preparation for what would become World War II, the U.S. War Department accepted the city's offer of 960 acres for a military airfield and flexible gunnery school. The area's flat topography, impractical for artillery training, was ideal for aircraft operations. Additional land was procured along the coast to use for combat maneuvers. The Harlingen Army Gunnery School received its first students in August 1941. By 1944, the facility was nearly 1,600 acres in size. Accommodating at peak times up to 9,000 trainees. Among those stationed at the base were Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). The field closed in 1946; following the war, numerous buildings were sold to area residents and businesses. In April 1952, with the U.S. involved in Korea, the government reactivated the field as Harlingen Air Force Base, with the primary mission of training navigators. New facilities included a hospital, and base and area residents followed local and national events in the Sun Lines newspaper. In 1961, the U.S. government announced numerous base closures, including the base in Harlingen. By June 1962, when the last class graduated from the school, more than 13,000 navigators had completed their training in Harlingen. The base closure, which removed millions of dollars from the local economy, severely impacted the city. Base facilities eventually served as a regional airport, which became the Valley International Airport in 1970. Portions of the base have also been used for an industrial air park, the Texas State Technical Institute (now College), the Marine Military Academy and the Rio Grande Valley Museum. (2004) #12951
?, Harlingen, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #12785
Howard E. and Mary Butt House. Howard E. and Mary Butt House In 1929 entrepreneur Howard E. Butt moved the headquarters of his developing grocery business to Harlingen. The following year, Howard and his wife, Mary, bought this house from its builders, John and Ruth Townsend, a few months after its completion. During the 1930s, Howard's business (H.E.B. Grocery) grew to more than 28 stores in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas. Known also for their philanthropy and civic work in Harlingen, Howard and Mary Butt lived here until 1940 but owned the house until 1943. Distinguished by its Palladian windows and spiral entry columns, the architectural style of the house is best described as Italian Renaissance. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000 #12785
718 E. Taylor, Harlingen, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04590
Santos Lozano Building. Built in 1915, this commercial structure is the oldest existing brick building in Harlingen. It was designed and constructed by Baltazar Torres of Brownsville for the mercantile business of Santos Lozano. It also served as a community center, providing upstairs space for bilingual school classes and special events. A post office was included on the ground floor. Continuously owned by Lozano descendants, the structure has housed various businesses. #4590
?, Harlingen, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #04044
Planters State Bank. Prior to construction of the Planters State Bank building, a barber shop owned by Harlingen pioneer Mack Crenshaw was located at this site. In 1917, the land was deeded to the Planters State Bank. The owners of the bank leased the upper floors of the structure as office space. After the Planters State Bank closed, this building served as the home of the Valley State Bank from 1924 until 1927. From that year until 1965, the Cameron County Irrigation District located its offices in this building, which has been an important element in Harlingen's business history. #4044
?, Harlingen, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #03113
Lon C. Hill Home. City's first home, built 1904, by the founder, Lon C. Hill, promoter of railroads and irrigation to the lower Rio Grande Valley. Climate-adapted victorian house. Here valley pioneers met and planned important developments. #3113
?, Harlingen, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02981
L. E. Snavely House. This land was a dense chaparral of mesquite and ebony trees when it was bought by Levi Elmer (1869-1939) and Lenna Edmondson (1872-1938) Snavely in 1919. They had moved to Harlingen from Oklahoma in 1909 to grow citrus and market the fruit under the label "La Bonita." In 1928, architect Birger A. Elwing designed for them this picturesque, Norman Style house, which they called La Bonita. The hollow-tile structure is faced with brick and accented with occasional rough boulders. #2981
?, Harlingen, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02582
Original Sam Houston School. The Harlingen School District opened a new public school at this site in April 1912 in one of the city's first permanent school buildings. Originally known as the main school, it served Elementary through High school grade students. Graduating classes of the early years usually were made up of ten or fewer students. As school enrollment grew, additional facilities were built in other parts of Harlingen. A new Sam Houston School Building was constructed at 301 E. Taft in 1960. Over the years, the school has produced some outstanding graduates. #2582
513 E. Jackson, Harlingen, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02382
Harlingen Hospital. This building, originally located on "F" Street, housed the first hospital in Harlingen. The institution was started by local businesswoman Ida Gilbert and Marie Yeager, a nurse. Built in 1923, the structure was comprised of an original center section with two buildings added as wings. The 7-bed facility closed four years later after the opening of the Valley Baptist Hospital. The structure, later used as a rooming house and private residence, was moved here in 1978. #2382
?, Harlingen, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02381
Harlingen Cemetery. The Harlingen Cemetery came into legal existence in 1912. In that year, Lon C. Hill (1862-1935), founder of the city of Harlingen and president of the Harlingen land and water company, sold 7.6 acres of land at this site for one dollar to trustees of the Harlingen Cemetery. Burials, however, had taken place here since the death of Robert Keen Weems (1893-1909), a teenager who had come to this area in a freight car from Houston. Although weems was the first to be buried at the graveyard, others who had died earlier, such as George Dorough (1868-1904), were reinterred here. This cemetery originally was divided into sections for babies, blacks, Anglos and Hispanics. These divisions have not been utilized since the cemetery was deeded to the city of Harlingen in 1947, but tombstone designs and grave decorations still reflect diverse cultural influences. Leaders of the community that have been buried here include James Lockhart (d. 1947), the town's first postmaster; Horace Johnson (d. 1928), a Cameron County deputy sheriff; and David L. Hinojosa (d. 1932), a Texas Ranger. The cemetery serves as a reminder of the surrounding community's rich heritage. (1984, 1997) #2381
1501 South F Street, Harlingen, TX, United States
Texas Historical Marker #02380
Harlingen. Platted 1904; incorporated 1910. Named for town in Holland, by founder Lon C. Hill, Sr. (1862-1935), promoter of railroad and early business enterprises. Here were organized the first irrigation district and first navigation district in Rio Grande Valley. Center for finance, wholesale business, commerce and medical services. Site of Harlingen State Tuberculosis Hospital, Rio Grande State Center for Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Valley Baptist Hospital. Home of Marine Military Academy, "Confederate Air Force" Museum and the lower valley historical museum. #2380
?, Harlingen, TX, United States