Mission, Texas, Hidalgo County. (original) (raw)

Hidalgo County, South Texas

26�12'41"N 98�19'17"W (26.211402, -98.321277)

US 83 and Hwy 107
3.5 miles N of the Rio Grande
18 miles SE of Edinburg the county seat
8 miles W of (and adjoining) McAllen
Population: 83,563 Est. (2016)
77,058 (2010) 45,408 (2000) 31,100 (1990)

Book Hotel Here › Mission Hotels

Mission Tx - Visitors buying land in 1906

History in a Pecan Shell

The settlement of Mission is directly tied to once was the La Lomita community, some 5 miles south. The French Oblates of Mary Immaculate developed a chapel on this portion of land which had dated back to a Spanish land grant. Up until 1904, the railroad had only advanced 5 miles from La Lomita to a railhead town known as "Mamie." The railroad was enticed (by a new depot and 20 acres of land) to extend the remaining distance to what became Mission.

In 1907 when the railroad arrived Mission developed from an influx of new arrivals and the moving of the operations of the Oblate fathers. John J. Conway and J. W. Holt purchased the La Lomita Ranch from the religious order and with other accquired properties, they parceled the land into small tracts for resale.

The naming of the post office in 1908 accounts for the name change. Since another Lomita, Texas had been granted a post office under that name, the name Mission was submitted to and accepted by postal authorities.

1908 was a busy year for the town with a school and pharmacy joining the depot and post office. The next year a hotel was built and a newspaper was established. Mission incorporated in 1910.

A developer named John H. Shary improved the extant (but crude) irrigation system and sold small tracts of land for farms around 1910. The long growing seaon allowed vegetable farmers to grow three crops a year. Shary's name lives on with the community named Sharyland (adjoining McAllen).

Oil was discovered in the 1930s, providing a boost to the economy, but it was nothing like the oil discoveries further north near Freer. In 1941 Shary and other businessmen bought land northwest of Mission which they then sold at cost to the government for use as an air field. Named Moore Field, it maintained a population of about 3,000 during the years of WWII. Former airmen and their families returned to settle in Mission after the war. At the close of the WWII it became Tri-Cities Airport and then during the Korean conflict it was activated as Moore Air Force Base in 1953. It closed again in 1960.

Populations:
1915: 2,000, 1940: 6,000, 1950: 10,700, 1960: 14,000, 1970: 13,000, 1980: 22,500, 1990: 31,100 and 2000: 45,408

Mission Attractions & Nearby Destinations

Mission TX Post Office Mural: West Texas Landscape detail of man with horse by barbed wire fence

Mission's Major Events

Contact the chamber for details - 800-580-2700

Mission Tx Sts Joseph & Peter Seminary

St. Joseph & St. Peter Seminary in Mission.
This Seminary burned in 2009.
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, July 2004

Mission TX - Border Theatre Neon Sign

Cotton Gin, Mission, Texas

First Christian Church, Mission, Texas First Christian Church 1940 Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ ~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html
Shary Memorial Chapel, Mission, Texas Shary Memorial Chapel, Mission, Texas Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ ~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html
Texas Citrus Fiesta Texas Citrus Fiesta Postcard courtesy rootsweb.com/ ~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html

Native Son

Mission Tx - Visitors buying land in 1906

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