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1929 Map of Harlingen

Name: 1929 Topographic Map of Harlingen
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1929
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1929

About this map

The Arroyo Colorado carves a deep, winding path through the citrus and vegetable-growing lands of the Rio Grande Valley in the late 1920s. Harlingen is shown here as a burgeoning transport hub at the junction of the St Louis Brownsville and Mexico Railway and the Southern Pacific Railroad. The town’s expansion is evident in the dense street grid surrounding Lake Harlingen and the specialized Valley Midwinter Fair Grounds. To the south, San Benito sits near the banks of Resaca de la Fresnos, highlighting the area’s dependence on natural and engineered waterways for irrigation and community layout.

Agricultural infrastructure defines the surrounding landscape, with named sidings and schools like Palmetal Siding and Palmetal Sch serving rural workers. The map details a sophisticated network of early motor roads, including the Missouri Pacific Highway and State Highway No 96, which connect the smaller settlements of Combes, Primera, and Avondale to the larger market centers. This survey captures the region just as it was becoming an industrial-scale agricultural powerhouse, before modern urban sprawl bridged the gap between Harlingen and its neighbors.