Mercedes (Texas)
| Mercedes | |
|---|---|
| Nickname : The Queen City of the Valley | |
 Historic Downtown |
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| Location in Texas | |
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| Basic data | |
| Foundation : | 1909 |
| State : | United States |
| State : | Texas |
| County : | Hidalgo County |
| Coordinates : | 28 ° 9 ′ N , 97 ° 55 ′ W |
| Time zone : | Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 ) |
| Residents : | 16,588 (as of 2017) |
| Population density : | 560.4 inhabitants per km 2 |
| Area : | 29.8 km 2 (about 12 mi 2 ) of which 29.6 km 2 (about 11 mi 2 ) are land |
| Height : | 21 m |
| Postal code : | 78570 |
| Area code : | +1 956 |
| FIPS : | 48-47700 |
| GNIS ID : | 1341366 |
| Website : | www.cityofmercedes.com |
| Mayor : | Henry Hinojosa |
Mercedes is a town in the lower Rio Grande Valley. It is located in the southeastern part of Hidalgo County on US Highway 83 . The city was founded in 1907 and was conceived from the beginning as a model settlement for the agricultural and commercial development of the region. According to the US census, the population in 2017 was 16,588.
geography
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Mercedes is part of the urban agglomeration zone that stretches along the lower Rio Grande and extends from Brownsville ( Cameron County ) to Rio Grande City and Roma ( Starr County ). The main traffic axis is the US Highway 83, which runs parallel to the Rio Grande and connects the settlement centers in the southern part of the Rio Grande Valley . The urban area of Mercedes covers almost 30 square kilometers. The center of town is south of the highway. Immediate neighboring cities and communities are, clockwise and starting in the west: Weslaco , Indian Hills, Heidelberg , La Feria , Progreso Lakes, Progreso and Llano Grande. The colonias, which are widespread in the American - Mexican border area, are not present in the urban area of Mercedes. However, there are four of these ad hoc poor settlements on the southwest and eastern outskirts.
In terms of landscape, Mercedes is part of the lower Rio Grande Valley - a flat, fertile river bordering region, in which mainly citrus fruits and vegetables are intensively grown . The Lacy-Mercedes Gasfield to the north of the city is one of the county's major natural gas reserves in the wider catchment area. The climate in the region is subtropical and subhumid . The temperature data for the nearby town of McAllen range from an average of 8 ° C in January to 35 ° C in July. The average annual temperature is 23 ° C. The average rainfall is 23 centimeters per month. The main rainy months are May and September.
history
| growth of population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Residents | ± in% | |
| 1910 | 1209 | - | |
| 1920 | 3414 | 182.4% | |
| 1930 | 6608 | 93.6% | |
| 1940 | 7624 | 15.4% | |
| 1950 | 10,081 | 32.2% | |
| 1960 | 10,943 | 8.6% | |
| 1970 | 9355 | -14.5% | |
| 1980 | 11,851 | 26.7% | |
| 1990 | 13,409 | 13.1% | |
| 2000 | 14,587 | 8.8% | |
| 2010 | 15,570 | 6.7% | |
Mercedes is part of a region that was already being settled in the second half of the 18th century . It was part of the land allotment awarded to Juan José Ynojosa de Ballí in 1790, but has been used for cattle breeding since the late 1770s . The actual location was founded on the initiative of the property developer Lon C. Hill. In 1904 Hill, who had already bought the land of the present city, founded his own development company - the Capisallo Town and Improvement Company. Hill first founded the community Capisallo, then renamed it Lonsboro and sold his property to the Rio Grande irrigation company , which renamed the place - after the then Mexican dictator Porfirio Díaz - in Díaz. After further name changes, the city finally got its current name - Mercedes. The origin of the name can no longer be traced. Some sources claim it goes back to the wife of the Mexican dictator. Since a wife is not known by this first name, this name derivation is factually incorrect.
In 1904, the newly founded community became a station on the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railroad, which was under construction . Right from the start, the city was planned and built with a view to economically robust residents with the necessary capital . Building permits in the city center were handled restrictively. Commercial buildings should be built of brick , stone, or concrete , residential units should cost no less than $ 2,000. In addition, alcohol was banned for fifteen years . The founding company recruited new settlers from the north through extensive campaigns . 1907 was wine introduced into the region; the widespread use of citrus fruits and other crops followed. In 1908 the community had a population of 1,000 people, a school , a bank , a weekly newspaper and a number of different shops.
The city was officially founded in 1909. As early as 1915, the city's population had doubled. During the First World War , the surrounding area was the location of the two army bases Camp Mercedes and Camp Llano. The number of soldiers stationed there amounted to 15,000. In the course of the home front measures directed against the Central Powers , the city issued an ordinance on April 15, 1918, which banned the use of the German language in public. In the 1930s, oil was discovered in the region. The population growth continued well beyond the middle of the century. In 1940 it had reached a level of 7,624, in 1952 it had passed the ten-thousand mark. In 1947/48, Mercedes recorded the best harvest of all cities in the Rio Grande Valley. In the 1950s, local business people took part in the construction of a new international bridge and the Progreso curve, which modified the course of the Rio Grande. In the 1960s, Mercedes was a local center for marketing and processing agricultural products. The population continued to rise in the last quarter of the 20th century and reached around 14,000 at the turn of the millennium .
Demographics
The population development of Mercedes took place in a continuously increasing way. A (nearly) doubling of the population took place between 1920 and 1930 - from 3,414 to 6,608. There was a slight decrease in the decade between 1960 and 1970 (from 10,943 to 9,355). Since then, does Numbers of inhabitants increased to approximately 15,000 residents. In 2017, according to the US census , 16,588 people lived in Mercedes. Of these, 8,008 were male , 8,580 female , 10,717 residents were 18 years or older, 5,871 children or adolescents and 2,414 were older than 65 years. The median age was 29.9 years. 15,613 inhabitants or 94.1% described themselves as Hispanic or Latino , 953 as white (5.9%), 17 as African American (0.1%) and 5 belonging to more than one ethnic group. Asians and North American Indians were not present in the city, according to the survey. The median income per household based on Quickfact information from the census was 32,424 US dollars (USD). The determined median value is well below that of the state of Texas (USD 54,700) and that of the USA as a whole (USD 55,300). The census showed 35% of people living in poverty and 22.3% of people without health insurance .
Others
The responsible school district for Mercedes is the Mercedes Independent School District. Beyond the urban area, it also covers the localities of Heidelberg and Relampago as well as the Indian Hills district, which belongs to Weslaco.
The downtown of Mercedes was designated as a Historic Landmark in March 2014 . The designated area includes several residential buildings from the early days. The city started an unusual PR campaign - comparable to the Buddy Bear sculptures placed in public space in Berlin - with the “Big Boots of Mercedes” - oversized cowboy boot sculptures that were placed in the city area.
gallery
Troops in Camp Llano Grande (ca.1916)
Mercedes Hotel (around 1917)
City view (ca.1918)
Mercedes, Texas High School (ca.1920)
Wrestling show as part of the Texas Street Festival (2016)
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sons and daughters of the town
- Kika de la Garza (1927-2017), politician
- David Spielberg (1939-2016), actor
Individual evidence
- ↑ See map overviews of the Texas Almanac (PDF) and Google Maps ; accessed on January 4, 2019
- ↑ Detailed view display on Google Maps ; accessed on January 4, 2019
- ↑ Rio Grande Valley . David M. Vigness and Mark Odintz, Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), June 15, 2010; Upgrade: October 5th, 2015
- ^ Hidalgo County . Alicia A. Garza, Texas State Historical Association, June 15, 2010 (Engl.)
- ↑ a b Population of Mercedes, TX . population.us, accessed January 2, 2019
- ↑ a b c Mercedes, TX . Alicia A. Garza, Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), June 15, 2010 (Engl.)
- ^ Mercedes, Texas . ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates, 2017, American FactFinder, accessed January 4, 2019.
- ↑ a b Mercedes, Texas , brief overview on the website of the United States Census Bureau, accessed on January 4, 2019 (Engl.).
- ^ Household Income in Mercedes, Texas . Overview of household income on statisticatlas.com, accessed on January 4, 2019 (Engl.).
- ↑ Overview of Mercedes Independent School District, Texas , statisticatlas.com, accessed on January 4, 2019 (Engl.)
- ↑ Local Historical Landmarks , cityofmercedes.com, accessed January 4, 2019 (Engl.)
- ↑ Big Boots of Mercedes . Website of the develop corporation Mercedes, accessed on January 4, 2019 (Engl.)