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BENAVIDES,
TEXASDuval County,
South Texas
Highways 339, 359 and FM 2295
15 miles SW of San Diego
25 miles SW of Alice
35 miles W of Kingsville
Population: 1,686 (2000)
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The
Old Benavides Bank
TE Photo, 2001 |
History in
a Pecan shell
The
wide median that bisects the town leaves no doubt that the town was
born with the arrival of the railroad. The namesake of the town was
Placido Benavides who had served in the Confederate army. After the
Civil War he devoted himself to raising cattle and his ranch became
one of the largest in Duval County. He generously allowed a depot
to be built on his property in 1880 and the following year donated
80 acres for a townsite. |
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A
former business in Benavides
TE Photo, 2001 |
In 1882 Archer
Parr moved to Benavides and in time became the "Boss" of Duval County.
He set into place a corrupt dynasty with his son and grandson continuing
his legacy of creative bookkeeping, voting fraud and outright assassination.
For anyone interested in how corrupt and totally controlled a place
can be and still be in the United States - The Fall of the Duke
of Duval by John E. Clark, Eakin Press, 1995 is recommended. |
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An
architectural detail from the bank
TE Photo |
By 1884 Benavides
was Duval County's second largest town.
By 1914 Parr attempted to form a new county with Benavides as the
seat of government. It was to be called Pat Dunn County after the
State Legislator who was introducing the bill. A clause in the State
Constitution prohibited the act - depriving Parr of another County
Treasury to loot. |
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A
relic of better years
TE Photo |
The estimated
population of Benavides had dropped to 250 but by the mid-1920s had
risen to 1,897.
A bank was established in 1928, when the population was about 1200
people. By the 1940s the town was prospering with 80 businesses and
a population just over 3,000. |
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The Santa Rosa de Lima Catholic Church in Benavides
TE photo, 2001 |
In 1950 Benavide's
businesses did $2,084,000 in sales. The population began a decline
that lasted until the 80's when it rose to just over 2,000 people.
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© John Troesser |
Benavides
Texas Forum
Subject: Church
in Benavides
I happen to grow up in San
Diego Texas and came across your website today. The information
was interesting except for a photo of the church. The church you placed
under San Diego , TX is the wrong Church. The church you have pictured
is actually the church of a near by town, Benavides, TX. Their church's
name is Santa Rosa de Lima Catholic Church. The church in San Diego
is Saint Francis de Paula Catholic Church. You can find it on Victoria
St. in San Diego. It is a really beautiful church with lots of history
itself. Thank you, Elaine Montemayor-Gonzalez, April 17, 2006
Anyone wishing to share history or photos of Benavides, Texas, please
contact
us. |
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