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SAN BENITO, TEXAS

Third largest town in Cameron County

Cameron County, Texas Gulf Coast

26°8'12"N 97°38'9"W (26.136603, -97.635878)

Hwys 77/ 83
6 miles SE of Harlingen
19 miles NW of Brownsville the county seat
Population: 24,243 Est. (2019)
24,250 (2010) 23,444 (2000) 20,125 (1990)

Book Hotel Here › San Benito Hotels

San Benito TX - Depot 1917
San Benito Depot, 1917
Courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/


History in a Pecan Shell

In 1904 the San Benito Land and Water Company was formed

1907: Lots are sold.

A post office was opened under the name San Benito. According to the Handbook of Texas - the town was first called Bessie, after the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Yoakum, a St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway official. The name San Benito was an invention of Rafael Moreno, who combined the given names of Benny Hicks and Sam Robertson. Sam became San and Benny became Benito.

1915-16: San Benito was a base camp for Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Tennessee National Guard troops.

1916: The train to Brownsville was derailed at Olmito - ten miles south of San Benito.

San Benito was a major shipper of citrus fruits and vegetables. The last citrus-packing facility was said to have closed after the freeze of 1983, but produce delivery continues - at least locally.

The Community-owned Dolly Vinsant Memorial Hospital, was named for Lt. Wilma R. (Dolly) Vinsant Shea, an army flight nurse, killed over Germany in May 1945.

The Stonewall Jackson, a former hotel, is now in used as a retirement home.



San Benito Vintage Images


San Benito TX - Aztec Building
San Benito's Exotic, Eclectic Aztec Building
Photos Courtesy Cruse Aviation and the San Benito Historical Society


San Benito TX Birds Eye View 1909
San Benito Birds Eye View 1909
Click on image to enlarge

Courtesy Dan Whatley Collection


San Benito TX Birds Eye View 1909
View of San Benito
Click on image to enlarge

Courtesy Dan Whatley Collection


San Benito TX - Land and Water Co's Office Building
San Benito Land and Water Co's Office Building
Click on image to enlarge

Courtesy Dan Whatley Collection


San Benito, Texas - Aerial view 1910
View of San Benito, Texas, 1910
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/


San Benito TX - Depot 1917
San Benito Depot, 1930
Courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/

More Texas Depots


San Benito, Texas - Dolly Visant Memorial Hospital
"Dolly Visant Memorial Hospital, San Benito, Texas", 1940s
The Community-owned hospital was named for Lt. Wilma R. (Dolly) Vinsant Shea, an army flight nurse, killed over Germany in May 1945.

Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/


San Benito TX - Hog Waaddle, Cabbage Day
"Hog Waddle, Cabbage Day, San Benito, Texas"
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
See Texas Animals


Texas-  Rio Grand Valley  Cotton Scene
Cotton Scene in the Rio Grand Valley -
Postmarked from San Benito in 1930
Courtesy The Will Beauchamp Collection
See Texas Cotton


San Benito TX - Public School Building
San Benito Public School Building
Courtesy Dan Whatley Collection
More Texas Schoolhouses


San Benito TX - Alba Heywood Residence
San Benito Alba Heywood Residence, 1912
Courtesy Dan Whatley Collection
See Texas Historic Homes


San Benito TX Samuel Arthur Robertson House
Samuel Arthur Robertson House in San Benito
Vintage photo courtesy Cruse Aviation
Samuel Arthur Robertson

by Mike Cox ("Texas Tales" column)
[Robertson founded] the city of San Benito and later supervised construction of an irrigation system capable of watering 68,000 acres. He also built a system of rail feeder spurs across the Valley and established the area’s first ice plants to facilitate the shipment of produce from the farms that sprang up because of the irrigation network he helped develop. While he was at it, he served as San Benito’s first postmaster and twice as sheriff of Cameron County... more


San Benito TX - Public Library
"Public Library, San Benito, Texas"
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/


San Benito TX Bridge - Fishing in Gravity Canal
Fishing Gravity Canal - San Benito, Texas
Courtesy The Will Beauchamp Collection



Freddy Fender on San Benito Texas water tower
"San Benito - Hometown of Freddy Fender"

Photo courtesy Ken Rudine, February 2006



San Benito Chronicles

  • The Fleeting Fame and Lasting Legacy of Bobby Morrow by Clay Coppedge
    "He was elected to the Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1975 and the Texas Track and Field Coaching Hall of Fame in 2016. San Benito named its new 11,000 seat stadium in his honor in 2006."

  • Freddy Fender by Ken Rudine
    "Freddy Fender is probably the greatest singer, writer and musician of Mexican-American heritage."

  • Patrolling the Mexican Border by Air
    Cruse Aviation in the late 40s and early 50s

  • Queen Citriana Betty Jo Knox, San Benito, Texas
    Queen Citriana Betty Jo Knox
    Photo courtesy Cruse Aviation
     

    Plane flying into San Benito, Texas, 1946
    Flying into San Benito, 1946
    Photo courtesy Cruse Aviation
     



    Take a road trip
    Texas Gulf Coast

    San Benito, Texas Nearby Towns:
    Harlingen
    Brownsville the county seat
    See Cameron County

    Book Hotel Here:
    San Benito Hotels | More Hotels
    Texas Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact us.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     


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