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SAN
BENITO, TEXASThird
largest town in Cameron County
Cameron County, Texas
Gulf Coast
Hwys 77/ 83
5 miles S of Harlingen
20 miles N of Brownsville
Population
23,444 (2000) 20,125 (1990)
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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.
Where
to Stay
San
Benito Hotels |
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"Hog
Waddle, Cabbage Day, San Benito, Texas"
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/
%7Etxpstcrd/ |
"Dolly
Visant Memorial Hospital, San Benito, Texas"
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/
%7Etxpstcrd/ |
"Public
Library, San Benito, Texas"
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
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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 |
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Queen
Citriana Betty Jo Knox
Photo courtesy Cruse Aviation | |
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Flying
into San Benito, 1946
Photo courtesy Cruse Aviation | |
| Where
to Stay
San
Benito Hotels
Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories, and vintage/historic
photos of their town, please contact
us. | |
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