1927 The Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide Page: 56
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56 THE TEXAS ALMANAC.
Galveston- where market and transporta-
tion facilities are excellent
Figs.
Many large magnolia fig orchards have
been established during recent years and
there is now a heavy production support-
ing an extensive fig preserving and can-
ning industry. Cotton is grown through-
out the belt, production being most in-
tensive in the region of Corpus Christi,
which has developed rapidly as an agri-
cultural territory during the last eight
years This territory is excellently
adapted to cattle raising and there are
some large ranches throughout the terri-
tory, especially around Victoria, which
may claim the distinction of being the
commercial center of -the oldest cattle
raising industry in Texas.
There is a large production of petro-
leum in his section of the Coast Plains,
and most of the sulphur supply of the
United States -comes from the great de-
posits at Gulf and Freeport. The opening
of a deep water harbor at Corpus Christi
during 1926 will do much to stimulate the
Lower Rio Grande Valley.
industrial progress of this territory.
Lying in the extreme end of the coast-
al belt is the lower valley of the Rio
Grande in Hidalgo and Cameron Coun-
ties and extending into Starr on the west
and Willacy on the north. The irrigation
of several hundred thousand acres of land
in this territory with waters from the
Rio Grande has made of this region one
of the chief winter and early spring truck
growing regions of the United States.
Cabbage, tomatoes, melons, onions, lettuce,
beans, spinach and other vegetable crops
are grown in addition to heavy produc-
tion of cotton during recent years. A
large area has been put in citrus fruit
trees during the last five years and with-
in a short period this territory should be
sending to market more than 10,000 car-
loads of grapefruit and oranges annually.
This territory produces throughout the
winter and it is sending one or more crops
to market during every month in the
year. Probably this small area sends to
market more different agricultural prod-
ucts annually than any other similar sized
area in the United States. The rainfall
is sufficient for dry farming and there is
an extensive dry farming area above the
irrigated belt producing cotton, grain
sorghums, broom corn, melons and certain
truck crops. The abundant waters of the
Rio Grande, however, in the lower valley,
combined, with an excellent climate and
fertile soils, presents a combination for
intensive agricultural industry which is
equaled in few other sections of the
country.
Big DeviElopments tinder Way.
Three developments under way will
greatly accelerate development of the
valley. First, the Southern Pacific sys--
tem built into the valley, this territory's
second railroad line, during 1926, and
asked permission to make certain exten-
sions. Secondly, the Thirty-Eighth and
Thirty-Ninth Legislatures released from
State ad valorem -taxation the property of
Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy Counties
(total release in Hidalgo and all above
O10c rate in Cameron and Widlacy) for a
period of twnty-five years, to allow
them to build a great system of levees
which will reclaim from overflow thou-
sands of acres of fertile lands susceptibleto irrigation. Thirdly, deep water facili-
ties are being provided -at-Point Isabel,
below Brownsville.
The development of the valley during
recent years has been marvelous, Browns-
ville, :the oldest and largest city, has
grown substantially and many other
places, - such as San Benito, Harlingen,
Pharr, Mercedes, Donna, San Juan, Mis-
sion, McAllen and Edinburg, have de-
veloped rapidly. Farms are small, the
country is thickly settled, and there is a
city every few miles along the broad
paved highway which runs the length of
the valley. The entire countryside is at-
tractively developed with fine farm-
houses, and the towns and cities are new
and attractive. It merits the title, "Magic
Valley," which has been applied to it,
Southwest Texas.
Southwest Texas, like some other sec-
tions of the State, is a little difficult to
define. Everything south of the Colo-
rado River, excepting the region east of
San Antonio, is frequently spoken of as
Southwest Texas. It includes the terri-
tory between Brownsville and El Paso-
a wide, long sweep of varied aspects.
Roughly, Southwest Texas may be di-
vided into three districts: First, that ly-
ing between San Antonio and the Rio
Grande; secondly, that lying on the Ed-
wards Plateau above San Antonio; and,
thirdly, the Trans-Pecos country.
The first or lower region of Southwest
Texas begins with the Gulf Coast between
Corpus Christi and Brownsville (the low-
er valley may appropriately -be included
in either the coastal belt or Southwest
Texas) and slopes upward by gentle de-
grees to an altitude of-about 1,000 feet in
the vicinity of the Southern Pacific Rail-
road running west from San Antonio. The
rainfall in this area is between twenty-
five and thirty inches in the eastern part
and from twenty to twenty-five inches in
the western section. Much of it is de-
voted to cattle raising, but dry farming,
has developed rapidly during recent
years, and there are extensive irrigated
areas throughout this section, other than
the Rio Grande Valley mentioned above.
A particularly fertile area lies in the
region west of Corpus Christi in Nueces,
Kleberg, Jim Wells and Live Oak Coun-
ties. Into the upper part of this belt the
lower portion of the black land belt ex-
tends. Much cotton is grown. Jim Wells
County is, aside from Parker County,
probably the greatest watermelon produc-
ing county in Texas. It is an ideal dairy-
ing country and there is a large commer-
cial production of dairy products from
such places as Kingsville and Falfurrias.
A number of tentative irrigation projects
on the Atascosa, Frio and Nueces Rivers,
near Three Rivers, should put under cul-
tivation possibly 200,000 acres of irri-
gated lands. An enormous irrigation
project will be under construction in La
Salle County near Cotulla during 1927,
bonds in the sum of $7,300,000 having
been issued.
The Winter Garden.
West of the Missouri Pacific Railroad
there is an extensive irrigated area in
Dimmit and Zavalla Counties, producing
spinach, onions and a variety of other
winter and early spring crops. Waters are
pumped from wells, rivers and lakes, and
several tentative- reservoir projects -for
the storage of storm waters would add
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1927 The Texas Almanac and State Industrial Guide, book, 1927~; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123785/m1/60/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.